Trump Says He's Weighing Several ‘Off Ramps’ From Iran Strike: ‘I Can Go Long’
HuffPost
President Donald Trump told Axios it will take Iranians "several years to recover from this attack."
President Donald Trump is teasing several “off ramps” from the joint U.S military strike with Israel on Iran Saturday, telling Axios in a brief phone interview he can end the conflict in mere days.
“I can go long and take over the whole thing, or end it in two or three days and tell the Iranians, ’See you again in a few years if you start rebuilding [your nuclear and missile programs],’” the president said. “In any case, it will take them several years to recover from this attack.”
The major combat operation, which the defense department calls “Operation Epic Fury,” received a mixed response from the GOP, with critics condemning the possibility of a foreign war and the lack of congressional approval.
Trump, who is floating the idea of regime change, justified the strike by claiming that Iran has continued to develop its nuclear program with plans to develop missiles to reach the U.S.
“My administration is taking every possible step to minimize the risk to U.S. personnel in the region. Even so, and I do not make this statement lightly, the Iranian regime seeks to kill,” Trump said in announcing the military strike.
