President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that Iran seemed to be “standing down” following missile strikes against Iraqi bases that caused no American casualties, suggesting that no imminent new military action would occur.
In a White House televised address to the nation, Trump stressed that in the salvo of missiles fired at two bases, “no Americans were harmed.”
While threatening to “punish” new economic sanctions against Iran immediately, Trump welcomed indications that Iran “appears to stand up” in the conflict, suggesting that the U.S. has not prepared a new military response.
Trump ended his remarks by directly addressing Iranians, saying he was “willing to embrace peace with all who try it.”
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Nevertheless, the U.S. president, facing both an impeachment trial in Congress and a difficult reelection in November, declared last Friday his decision to order the killing of senior Iranian general Qassem Soleimani that led to Tehran’s missile strike.
Soleimani, he claims, was “the world’s top terrorist” and “should have been terminated long ago,” Trump said.
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Although Trump ended his remarks with a call for peace, he began by bluntly stating that he would never allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons.
He then encouraged European allies and other world powers to follow the lead of America in leaving a turbulent international agreement to control the nuclear ambitions of the country.
