TEL AVIV — Israeli officials, convinced that President Donald Trump had planned to order a strike on Iran on Wednesday night or early Thursday, are now assessing why he backed down, with the possibilities ranging from concerns about the prospects of success at this time to a strategy of lulling Iranian leaders into a false sense of confidence to improve the prospects of success for a later strike.

"There is a rumor going around that the Red Head [code name for Trump] just called to update that it won’t be happening tonight," a highly placed source, speaking to Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, said in describing the message conveyed by Trump to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Jan. 14 or 15. 

As of Friday morning, no Israeli official had confirmed whether the phone call had actually taken place. The New York Times reported Thursday that the two leaders had spoken that night, with Netanyahu urging Trump to hold off on striking Iran to allow him to prepare Israeli defenses for possible Iranian reprisals. The report did not clarify whether Netanyahu had also requested time to prepare offensive actions against Iran. A CNN report on Friday alleged Israeli concerns over the state of its anti-missile defense after its extensive use during the 12-day war against Iran in June. 

US allies in the region mounted an urgent campaign to head off an American attack, according to US media reports, perhaps prompting the public comments by Trump on Wednesday that he would like to resolve tensions with Iran through diplomatic means. Israeli officials, still hopeful of an attack, told Al-Monitor that Trump had issued similar reassurances in June as B-52 bombers were revving their engines for the strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities.