President Donald Trump said he would prefer to avoid further destruction in Iran but left open additional U.S. military action, telling reporters in the Oval Office: “I would rather not destroy the rest of the country if possible, but maybe I’ll have to. You will know soon enough.”
The remarks are in the White House video of Trump’s November 5 Oval Office signing event and press questions.
Trump leaves further action open
Trump’s comments were a statement about possible further action.
In the same White House recording, Trump said: “If we have to do the rest of the Iran thing, we’re very much locked and loaded.” He also said Washington would make a decision on whether to go further.
His stated preference to avoid additional destruction and his warning that he might act were both part of the reported remarks.
Fox reports national security meetings
Fox News, in its November 5 live coverage reviewed for this update at 8:32 p.m. Eastern, reported that Trump met his national security team Wednesday and Thursday to discuss whether to resume military operations against Iran. Fox attributed that account to unnamed senior officials; Jennifer Griffin contributed to the report.
The same Fox item said Central Command was finalizing preparations for a possible resumption of major operations but had received no new directive from Washington, attributing that information to reports citing a U.S. official.
Diplomacy remains part of the picture
The warning comes alongside reports of an indirect diplomatic channel. A senior Iranian official told Reuters that Tehran had sent a nuclear proposal through Qatar but would discuss it only after Washington met Iranian conditions, as JBizNews reported earlier Thursday.
In earlier reporting on the possibility of renewed hostilities, JBizNews covered Reuters’ account based on two sources.
JBizNews Desk | Global & Politics
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