US President Donald Trump said Friday that he had not decided on whether to launch major strikes on Iran yet, as Tehran was now getting “serious” in talks with Washington.
His comments came after reports that an increasingly frustrated Trump was meeting senior advisors to discuss launching a large-scale military operation against Iran.
“No I haven’t,” Trump told journalists in the Oval Office when asked if had made a decision.
“Look, we’re talking to them right now. I think they’re getting more and more serious as the days go by, for maybe the obvious reason.”
Trump said Iran had a choice between making a deal or facing a “much higher level” of strikes, after nearly two weeks of US attacks that have left a ceasefire in tatters.
The United States says it is carrying out the strikes to stop Iran closing the crucial Strait of Hormuz. Iran has responded with strikes on US bases that have killed four service members.
“We’re locked and loaded and ready to go. But we’re talking to them, so I think while we’re talking, we’ll see what comes of it. I believe…They’re very serious. They should be,” Trump said.
The war that Trump once predicted would last four or five weeks is now nearing its fifth month, and is weighing on the Republican’s approval ratings ahead of crucial midterm elections in November.
Trump added that he did not know what the “tipping point” would be for a decision, but reiterated his stance that his red line would be if Iran was close to developing a nuclear weapon.
– ‘Massive attack’ –
The New York Times reported earlier that Trump had met advisors on Friday, while the Axios news outlet quoted the US leader as saying on Thursday that he was considering a “massive attack” on Iran.
Trump separately doubled down on comments in an earlier social media post in which he said he believed that Russia and China were not arming Iran, despite reports that both countries were giving Tehran intelligence to target US forces.
“I mean, I will tell you that President Xi said he will not partake, and President Putin said the same thing. I think you know I trust them,” Trump told reporters. “I don’t think they’d want to have me disappointed.”
Earlier in a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump had warned Moscow and Beijing not to sell weapons to Iran.
“If they did, it would be very bad for them — Certainly not in their best interests,” he wrote.
Trump said Chinese president Xi Jinping had told him when they met in Beijing in May that he would not arm Iran under any circumstances, and that Russia’s Vladimir Putin had made a similar promise despite the war in Ukraine.
“He understands that I do not sell Weapons to Ukraine, but to NATO Countries. They pay full price, and how those Weapons are distributed, I have no idea,” Trump said.
Trump has frequently taken a more deferential tone towards Xi and Putin than he has towards Washington’s own allies, saying that they must be respected as the leaders of major world powers.
