Trump says renewed war with Iran is highly unlikely if talks progress. He warned strikes could still come.
President Donald Trump said Sunday that it is “highly unlikely” he will need to order the U.S. back to war with Iran as long as negotiations on Tehran’s nuclear program and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz make progress. He repeated the assertion five times in a 20-minute phone interview with CNN’s Jim Sciutto. He said it depends on whether Iran signs a very strong agreement.
Trump made clear U.S. forces are positioned to strike if he orders it. He said a third aircraft carrier strike group has arrived in the region and that Iran’s air defenses have been destroyed. He repeated threats to hit bridges and power plants if the war resumes, saying the U.S. had identified 38 bridges. He said he does not want to do that because they would take about a decade to rebuild.
The conflict has continued in intermittent bursts of fighting separated by ceasefires and negotiations. Reuters reported that Iranian media suggested explosions in southern Iran on Saturday evening were linked to Iranian military activity and not U.S. strikes. Both sides reported ships were hit in or near the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s state television said two vessels hit mines and a third caught fire. The U.S. said Nov. 2 it carried out a limited defensive strike on Qeshm Island.
This report draws on CNN, The Hill, CNBC, ABC News and Reuters.