As Mr. Trump last week weighed whether to use direct military force against Iran, a bipartisan contingent of lawmakers demanded that the president seek congressional approval before moving forward with any action.

"Our objective was the destruction of Iran's nuclear enrichment capacity and a stop to the nuclear threat posed by the world's No. 1 state sponsor of terror," Trump said in a late-night announcement in the East Room on June 21,

The Israeli prime minister had set in motion plans to attack Iran long before President Trump began efforts to resolve nuclear concerns through negotiations.