US President Donald Trump has renewed his threat of possible military action against Iran, warning that Washington may eventually have to launch further strikes against Tehran.
Trump made the remarks on Sunday while addressing supporters at a campaign rally in Iowa ahead of the November 3 midterm elections, suggesting that he had so far restrained himself from further military action to avoid additional casualties.
The 80-year-old president said he wanted to avoid further loss of lives but warned that the United States could eventually resort to stronger military action.
“And the only reason why I’m not finished with Iran is I want to be nice. I want to try and save all those lives if I can… But at some point we’re going to have to give them the hammer,” Trump said.
His latest warning follows previous comments indicating that the United States still had additional targets to address in Iran.
In response, Tehran warned that any renewed military confrontation with Washington could last longer than the previous round of fighting.
Iranian Army spokesman, Mohammad Akraminia, said his country would not allow the United States to dictate the timing or conditions for ending a future conflict.
“A potential future war could last longer than previous conflict, and the American president would not be in a position to dictate the timing or the conditions of its conclusion,” Akraminia said, according to Iranian state television.
The exchange of threats has raised fresh concerns over the possibility of renewed military confrontation between the two countries, amid continued tensions over Iran and US military involvement in the region.
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