The President of the United States said this Sunday that it is “highly unlikely” that he will order new attacks against the Iran as peace talks progress, despite both countries reporting attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
“It depends on whether they sign a very strong agreement or not,” said Donald Trump, in an interview with CNN. In reference to the resumption of war, he replied: “It is highly unlikely that this will be necessary.”
Even so, the head of state warned that, if the attacks are resumed, the United States has already identified infrastructure as potential targets, including 38 bridges that Washington “can literally destroy in an hour,” he said.
Previously, Trump had suggested that he could resume large-scale attacks against Iran after the US mid-term elections, which took place last week, but so far there has been no sign of the start of a large-scale military operation. Faced with this hypothesis, Tehran guaranteed that it would respond with attacks on North American and Israeli targets.
According to Iranian media, the explosions that occurred on Saturday in southern Iran are linked to military activities by the national armed forces, and not to attacks by the United States. Also regarding explosions heard in other areas, including island of Qeshmin the Strait of Hormuz, it is not confirmed that they were caused by air strikes.
However, both the United States and Iran continue to launch attacks against vessels in Hormuz.
Trump’s statements this Sunday contrast with those of the head of Iranian diplomacy, Abbas Araghchi, who, shortly before, had stated that diplomatic negotiations between the two countries had stalled due to the “shock” caused by the republican defeat in the North American elections.
“In recent days, there have been no more trips (by mediators), and the reason is the shock that the results of the elections in the United States caused everyone,” Araghchi said on state television. It will take some time before the environment “is favorable for the resumption of mediators’ travel. We must be patient”, he added.
After his party’s defeat, Trump acknowledged that the war that began last February with Iran, by causing a steep rise in oil prices, contributed largely to the electoral results.
