US President Donald Trump opposed the seizure of the Iranian island of Kharg, fearing that a ground operation would lead to heavy losses of American soldiers, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing its sources.
According to them, the American leader was confident in the success of the landing, but he assessed that the American military would be an easy target and would suffer “unacceptably high losses“, the publication notes.
The main oil terminals of the Islamic Republic are located on Kharg Island. The US president has previously repeatedly threatened Tehran with seizing the island.
The US president yelled at his aides for hours after learning in early April that a US fighter jet had been shot down over Iran, the newspaper also reported.
According to his sources, the White House leader feared a repeat of the 1979 hostage crisis - when Iranian students stormed the US embassy in Tehran and took 66 American diplomats and employees hostage - and requested an immediate search and rescue operation to save both crew members of the downed F-15E.
However, the military needed time to develop a plan of action. Trump's aides were given minute-by-minute operational information, but, fearing that the president's impatience could undermine the operation, they briefed him only on key points and excluded him from discussions.
The two-seat American F-15E fighter jet was shot down over Iranian territory on April 3. According to Axios, the two crew members - the pilot and the navigator - successfully communicated with each other after the ejection. Sources at the portal indicated that the pilot was rescued several hours after the plane crashed. The Americans later reported the rescue of the second crew member.
On April 5, Military Watch magazine reported that the rescue operation had resulted in unprecedented losses of American aircraft.
According to the publication, the United States and Israel lost a total of 11 aircraft.
Trump's advisers have recommended that he give fewer spontaneous interviews to the media, as such conversations only further reveal the contradictory nature of his statements, the newspaper also wrote.
According to him, sources close to the American leader have repeatedly advised him to reduce his interactions with the press. He agreed to this for a while, but then returned to his previous practice. Trump has even joked with White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt at times, telling her that he had spoken to a certain journalist and given her important news, adding that Leavitt would have to wait and find out from the publication.
Trump also regularly “improvises” when he posts on Truth Social, the newspaper reported. For example, an April 7 post threatening the demise of Iran as a civilization was improvised, not part of a national security plan, an unnamed U.S. official told the newspaper.