US President Donald Trump has addressed the prospect of renewed war, claiming that US strikes carried out overnight were “decisive” and describing the attacks that followed today as retaliation for those strikes.
In remarks carried by US media outlets, Trump claimed that he had recently received a call indicating that Iran was urgently seeking a settlement agreement with the United States. However, he questioned whether Tehran was serious about reaching an agreement, saying he did not trust that Iran would honour any future deal.
Trump Says US Objective Is Not War
Trump said the objective of the United States was “not war”, but the complete dismantling of Iran’s nuclear programme and preventing Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
He argued that preventing Iran from possessing a nuclear weapon was a position that should receive universal support.
Trump also claimed that he was the number one person on Iran’s list of targets.
Trump Threatens Much Stronger Retaliation
The US president said Iran had targeted three boats, rather than two, and warned that any future attack would be met with a significantly stronger response.
“We dealt Iran an extremely severe blow, and our response will always be 20 times greater every time they launch an attack against us,” Trump said.
Earlier, Trump had issued another warning, saying the US action was a response to Tehran’s attacks on ships the previous day and threatening far greater escalation if such attacks were repeated.
