U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he would soon decide whether to resume the war against Iran.
The stated aim of the conflict, launched jointly with Israel in February, is to prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon.
“Do we want to go further” with the attacks to ensure Iran’s nuclear programme is dead and “it will never happen again?” Trump told reporters at the White House.”I would rather not destroy the rest of the country if possible, but maybe I will have to. You’ll know soon enough.”Trump said after a meeting with his national security advisers that the United States had achieved “everything that we’ve wanted to control” in relation to Iran.
“Now we will make a decision,” he said.
The U.S. news website Axios quoted a U.S. official as saying that U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) was stepping up preparations for a possible resumption of major military operations in Iran.
However, it had yet to receive new orders from Washington.
As Trump weighs his next move, mediators have recently made several trips to Tehran for talks.
Trump himself has also recently spoken of possible progress in negotiations to resolve the conflict.
