Trump pulls back after approving military strikes against Iran

President Donald Trump approved retaliatory military strikes against Iran on Thursday before changing his mind, US media reports.
The New York Times, citing senior White House officials, said strikes were planned against a “handful” of targets.
They say the operation was allegedly under way “in its early stages” when Mr Trump stood the US military down. The White House has so far made no comment.
This comes after Iran shot down a US spy drone.
Tehran claims the unmanned US aircraft entered their airspace early on Thursday morning. The US maintains it was shot down in international airspace.
Tensions have been escalating between the two countries, with the US recently blaming Iran for attacks on oil tankers operating in the region. Meanwhile, Iran has announced it will soon exceed international agreed limits on its nuclear programme.
Last year, the US unilaterally pulled out of a 2015 nuclear deal aimed at curbing Iran’s nuclear activities, said a BBC News report on Friday.
What do the US media reports say?
The New York Times first published details of the apparent planned strikes late on Thursday night in Washington.
The NYT said that as late as 19:00 local time (23:00 GMT), US military and diplomatic officials still expected the strikes on agreed targets, including Iranian radar and missile batteries, to take place.