Publisher’s note: Israel launched strikes against Iran early Friday on Friday, targeting the nuclear program and its long -range missile capacities, an Israeli military official said. Follow the live updates here.
Cnn
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President Donald Trump warned the possibility of “massive conflicts” in the Middle East on Thursday which could take place “soon”.
US officials are increasingly concerned that the risk of Israel striking that Iran has increased after Tehran said Thursday That it would increase its nuclear activities due to the International Atomic Energy Agency adopting a resolution saying that the country was not in accordance with its non-proliferation commitments, senior US officials told CNN.
Asked about a potential strike Thursday, Trump said that “could very well happen.”
“I don’t want to say imminent, but it’s something that could happen very well,” Trump told the journalists in the White House.
American embassies in the Middle East have carried out emergency action assessments this week, and this process is underway while the United States is monitoring the regional threat environment, officials said.
When asked what the Israelis told him to provoke the departure of the American staff in the region, Trump replied: “They didn’t tell me anything, but I said to look, there is a chance of massive conflict.”
He described the deliberations that led him to the decision.
“We have a lot of Americans in this area, and I said, look at, we have to tell them to go out because something could happen – soon. And I don’t want to be the one who has not been warned and the missiles fly in their buildings. It is possible. So I had to do it.
Later Thursday, Trump in a social post of truth underlined his preference for diplomacy in Iran, claiming that his administration remains “attached to a diplomatic resolution to the Iranian nuclear question!”
Trump also said that he did not want Iran to target Iran when negotiations on a potential nuclear agreement continue, with a sixth round of talks planned for Sunday in Oman.
“I want to have an agreement with Iran. We are close enough to an agreement. … As long as I think there is an agreement, I don’t want them to enter because it would breathe it. Could help him, in fact, but could also explode,” he said when he was questioned on an Israeli potential strike.
Kevin Liptak of CNN contributed to this report.