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Trump Warns Iran that US 'Cocked & Loaded' but 'In No Hurry'

Jeff Seldin

   The United States was "cocked & loaded," ready to strike three sites in
   Iran in retaliation for the downing of a U.S. drone over the Strait of
   Hormuz but called off the attacks at the last possible moment to spare
   Iranian lives.

   The revelation by U.S. President Donald Trump on social media Friday
   followed a series of reports, first by The New York Times, that the
   president initially authorized strikes on a handful of Iranian targets,
   such as radar and missile batteries, before pulling back.

   "We were cocked & loaded to retaliate last night on 3 different sights
   when I asked, how many will die. 150 people, sir, was the answer from a
   General. 10 minutes before the strike I stopped it," Trump tweeted,
   saying the action would have been disproportionate.

   "I am in no hurry," Trump added. "Our Military is rebuilt, new, and
   ready to go, by far the best in the world."

     President Obama made a desperate and terrible deal with Iran - Gave
     them 150 Billion Dollars plus I.8 Billion Dollars in CASH! Iran was
     in big trouble and he bailed them out. Gave them a free path to
     Nuclear Weapons, and SOON. Instead of saying thank you, Iran
     yelled.....
     -- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) [1]June 21, 2019

   The president also said that he authorized additional "biting"
   sanctions against Iran late Thursday night as part of his
   administration's maximum pressure campaign to force Iran to restart
   negotiations over its nuclear program.

     Hesameddin Ashena - an adviser to [2]#Iran President
     [3]@HassanRouhani - with a blunt message to the US on avoiding war
     w/[4]#Tehran: if you don't want war, ease the sanctions...
     [5]pic.twitter.com/eBgXZnAbAG
     -- Jeff Seldin (@jseldin) [6]June 21, 2019

   "Iran can NEVER have Nuclear Weapons, not against the USA, and not
   against the WORLD!" Trump tweeted.

   The White House and Pentagon were said to be in agreement on the
   decision to hold off on retaliatory strikes.

   "There was complete unanimity amongst the president's advisors and DOD
   leadership on an appropriate response to Iran's activities. The
   president made the final decision," a senior administration official
   said Friday.

   The move appears to pull both Washington and Tehran back from the brink
   of an armed conflict that could engulf much of the Middle East.The
   White House said President Trump spoke Friday with Saudi Arabian Crown
   Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

   "The two leaders discussed Saudi Arabia's critical role in ensuring
   stability in the Middle East and in the global oil market," said White
   House spokesperson Hogan Gidley. "They also discussed the threat posed
   by the Iranian regime's escalatory behavior."

   The Reuters news agency reported early Friday that Iranian officials
   said they had received a message from Trump via Oman overnight, warning
   of the imminent attack but also that the United States was willing to
   talk on a range of issues.

   But one of the Iranian officials said the offer to talk was met with a
   firm response.

   "We told the Omani official that any attack against Iran will have
   regional and international consequences," the official said.

References

   1. https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1142055375186907136?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
   2. https://twitter.com/hashtag/Iran?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
   3. https://twitter.com/HassanRouhani?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
   4. https://twitter.com/hashtag/Tehran?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
   5. https://t.co/eBgXZnAbAG
   6. https://twitter.com/jseldin/status/1142051337758265345?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

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