"We'll never allow America and its allies to be threatened with terrorism or nuclear attack," Trump told the crowd, sending a message to the leadership in Tehran.

"The time is right now for them to choose. Right now. We don't have a lot of time to wait. Things are happening at a very fast pace."

That May 13 ultimatum received little attention at the time. 

But behind the scenes, the president already knew an attack on Iran could be imminent - and that there might be little he could do to stop it, according to two US officials.

By mid-May, the Pentagon had begun drawing up detailed contingency plans to aid Israel if it followed through on its long-held ambition to strike Iran's nuclear program, the officials said. And the US had already diverted thousands of defensive weapons away from war-torn Ukraine toward the Middle East in preparation for potential conflict, according to a Western source familiar with the matter and a Ukrainian source.

The Pentagon declined to comment for this story.

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