US and Israeli officials: The strike on Iran was delayed by one week from the originally scheduled time.

Techub News reports, according to Axios, senior U.S. and Israeli officials revealed that the U.S. and Israel initially planned to launch an attack on Iran a week earlier than it actually occurred. After the second round of U.S.-Iran talks concluded on February 17 without significant progress, U.S. and Israeli military planners were preparing to launch a strike on February 21. However, the authorization for the operation was never given. U.S. and Israeli officials stated that a key reason was the severe weather in the region. One Israeli official said the delay was primarily proposed by the U.S. side and was related to the need for better coordination with the Israel Defense Forces. The initial strike targets were Iran's Supreme Leader Khamenei and his son, as well as several meetings of senior Iranian officials, including the regular weekly meeting held on Saturdays. An Israeli intelligence official said the U.S. and Israel wanted to send a signal that there would not be an immediate attack, so that Khamenei and others would feel safe. The Geneva talks were one of the means to convince the Iranians that diplomacy remained Trump's preferred path. Another Israeli official said the new strike date was set for tactical and operational reasons, and the talks were sincere. If Trump had seen substantial progress in Geneva, he could have postponed the strike again.