President Donald Trump received a "stunning tip" from his Israeli counterpart last week that seems to have forever changed the course of the Middle East, according to a report.
Axios reported on Tuesday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Trump that Iranian Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his top advisors were set to meet in a single location early Saturday, the same time the two countries coordinated a bombing campaign across more than 100 sites in Iran.
Three people briefed on the call told Axios that Netanyahu relayed that all of the leaders could be taken out in a single strike, according to the report.
"It answers the question that lawmakers, MAGA skeptics and world leaders have all been asking since Saturday: why now?" the report reads in part. "The answer: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his inner circle were irresistible targets of opportunity that neither Trump nor Netanyahu wanted to pass up."
The call, which took place on Feb. 23, was part of a weeks-long process by the Israeli leader to get Trump to move forward with the strikes. Reports indicate that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman also pressured Trump to strike Iran.
Trump's decision to strike also left his administration "flat-footed, " according to the report.
"We didn't make the case in advance as well as we could have because the opportunity came on us so fast," one official told Axios.