In 2017, President Donald Trump consistently demanded that the Department of Defence develop a plan to blow up Iranian "fast boats" in the Persian Gulf, Axios reported, citing anonymous sources.
"So these boats, they get in, they come in really fast, they come in really close… and they might have explosives on them and we don't even know. Can you believe this? And we don't do anything?" Trump said, one of the sources recalled.
Axios' sources added that the DoD ignored his demands and never devised any plans to attack the Iranian boats, which, according to one of the sources, could have resulted in a war between the two countries. Over time, Trump lost interest in the issue and had almost forgotten about it by 2018.
Washington claims that Iranian speedboats, armed with machine guns and missile launchers, have been poking around American vessels in the region since the end of Iran-Iraqi War in 1988. In light of these claims, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) recently announced that it would be equipping a new generation of these boats with stealth technology.
READ MORE: Iran to Equip Its Speed Boats With Missiles and Stealth Technology — Report
The Wall Street Journal reported on 13 January, citing a senior former presidential administration employee, that National Security Adviser John Bolton had asked the Pentagon to prepare options for a military strike against Iran, which they reportedly agreed to do.