File photos: White House (Trump, Situation Room, June 2025); U.S. Department of Defense (Hegseth).

The Trump administration came “very close” to signing off on a strike against Iran at least once in recent weeks, according to a report citing several sources familiar with the matter.

The sources did not indicate that a strike was ultimately authorized, and the White House has not publicly commented on the report.

The report comes after U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made an unannounced visit to Israel on Monday, October 19, meeting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Ovda Air Base in southern Israel, according to Axios. Hegseth also met with U.S. troops at the base. Axios reported that the visit came amid U.S.-Israeli discussions about potentially resuming major combat operations against Iran.