U.S. prepares for new military strikes against Iran
Marco Rubio criticized Iran for its toll system in the Strait of Hormuz 04:56
Washington — The Trump administration was preparing for a new round of military strikes against Iran on Friday, according to sources with direct knowledge of the planning. diplomacy continued.
As of Friday afternoon, no final decision on the strikes had been reached.
“Situations concerning the government” Preventing President Trump from attending He said in a social media post that his son Donald Trump Jr.’s wedding will be this weekend. The president had planned to spend Memorial Day weekend at his golf resort in New Jersey, but will now return to the White House.
Some members of the U.S. military and intelligence community canceled Memorial Day weekend plans in anticipation of possible attacks, some sources said.
Defense and intelligence officials have begun updating recall lists for U.S. facilities abroad as some of the troops stationed in the Middle East are withdrawn from the region as part of an effort to reduce the American military footprint in the region amid concerns about possible retaliation from Iran.
The United States and Iran have largely refrained from attacking each other since a temporary ceasefire began in early April, buying time for indirect talks on a long-term deal.
White House press secretary Anna Kelly told CBS News that Mr. Trump “has made his red lines abundantly clear: Iran will never have a nuclear weapon and will never retain its enriched uranium.”
“The President always retains all options, and it is the Pentagon’s duty to be prepared to implement any decision the Commander in Chief may make,” Kelly said. “The president was clear about the consequences if Iran fails to reach a deal.”
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran warned He said on Wednesday that any attack against the country by the United States or Israel could extend the conflict beyond the Middle East, promising “crushing blows in places you cannot even imagine.”
Teheran review It is the latest US offer for a possible deal to end the nearly three-month war that has shaken energy markets and caused fuel prices to rise. The offer was delivered to Iran on Wednesday and was accompanied by a warning that rejection of the so-called final offer would mean continued military strikes, a source told CBS News.
“Iran is eager to make a deal,” Mr. Trump said on Friday. “We’ll see what happens.”
The president said Wednesday he was prepared to give Tehran “a few days” to respond to the latest U.S. offer. He added that his team was “quite impressed” with negotiators in Iran, but warned that the administration would need assurances robust enough to prevent the conflict from reigniting.
The response is expected to be conveyed soon through Pakistan, which acts as an intermediary.
Before boarding the plane to India, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters that the United States was waiting to hear a response through its Pakistani field chief, who acts as the main channel of communication with Iran on behalf of the Trump administration. Rubio claimed that Trump preferred diplomacy over attack and stated that progress had been made but there was still a lot of work to be done.
Rubio also touched on discussions held with NATO members in Sweden about how to reopen the Strait of Hormuz through military force; He would call this effort “Plan B” if Iran did not accept it.
In Washington, House Republicans on Thursday abandoned an attempt to hold a vote limiting President Trump’s authority to conduct military operations against Iran after concluding they did not have the votes needed to stop the resolution from moving forward.
