On a humid evening in late April, a group of Trump officials, U.S. intelligence analysts, and Iranian dissidents met for dinner in Washington to game out a potential military assault on Iran. Strong evidence that Israel was preparing to strike was already reverberating through intelligence channels in the city. And questions about whether Donald Trump would join in were also being asked around the dining table at an exclusive, tree-shrouded apartment building near Woodley Park.
The sequencing of any Israeli or American operation was the primary focus for the mealtime discussion, which included gourmet Indian food, French wine, and Italian gelato, according to attendees. The targeting timeline mapped out during the dinner was remarkably similar to what the Israel Defense Forces have pursued so far in their five-day onslaught. This has included Israel’s early attacks on Iran’s military chain of command; the flattening of key military and intelligence command centers; and the steady degradation of the country’s nuclear program, including the assassinations of more than a dozen scientists.
But three steps explored that night have yet to be taken.