Growing tension between the U.S. and Iran had led to speculation the Trump administration had devised a plan to deploy as many as 120,000 troops to the Middle East in response to Iran's aggression.
As a result, the spotlight has fallen on President Trump's hawkish national security advisor, John Bolton.
For more on this and other news around the world, let's turn to Hong Yoo.
How important is Bolton's role in the U.S. relationship with Iran?
Well, Mark, reports say John Bolton, President Trump's top foreign policy adviser and national security adviser, was behind the alarming U.S. military posturing in the Middle East over the past two weeks.
It was reportedly Bolton who gave Trump the final push he needed to withdraw from the Iran nuclear agreement, which at the time was effectively controlling Iran's nuclear activities.
Even the former U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis, long known for his hawkish views on Iran, had testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee that Iran was sticking to the nuclear deal.
Since pulling out, the Trump administration started imposing new sanctions on Iran, triggering Iran to announce last week that it would start pulling out of parts of the nuclear deal.
CNN criticized Bolton calling him "Donald Trump's war whisperer" laying out that Bolton was the one who publicly called out the Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and allegedly backing the plot to try to remove him from power.
He also advocated for a pre-emptive war against North Korea a little over a year ago.
Recently, however, President Trump who had been on the same page with Bolton about Iran, has said he's willing to talk to Iran showing hopeful signs that war can be avoided.
