Trump 'approved military strikes against Iran but pulled back'

President Donald Trump approved retaliatory military strikes against Iran on Thursday before changing his mind, US media reports.

The New York Times, citing senior White House officials, said strikes were planned against a "handful" of targets.

They say the operation was allegedly under way "in its early stages" when Mr Trump stood the US military down.

The strikes were in response for Iran earlier shooting down a US spy drone, the newspaper said.

Iran claims the unmanned US aircraft entered their airspace early on Thursday morning. The US maintains it was shot down in international airspace.

The incident comes at a time of escalating tension between the two countries.

The US has recently blamed Iran for attacks on oil tankers operating in the region and Iran has announced it will soon exceed international agreed limits on its nuclear programme.

Source: bbc