Washington (Monitoring Desk): US President Donald Trump has claimed that several Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia, asked him not to launch further major attacks on Iran and to maintain the current situation.
According to Trump, the United States has the capability to destroy Iran’s energy system, bridges and industrial infrastructure within a few days. However, at the request of regional allies, a decision has been made to continue military and economic pressure for the time being.
According to Al Jazeera, speaking in an interview with Stephen A. Smith at the White House, the US president said Saudi Arabia had requested that the current situation be maintained for some time. He added that Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain also supported the continuation of the US strategy.
Trump said he did not personally agree completely with this strategy, but the requests of Gulf allies were being given importance. Asked whether he would have launched another operation against Iran if the allies had not requested a halt to further attacks, he answered in the affirmative.
The US president claimed that, if he made the decision, Iran’s energy system, bridges and industrial production capacity could be destroyed within one day, while completing the operation could take a total of 3 days.
He said he could end the war immediately, but for now, the policy was to maintain economic and military pressure on Iran.
During the interview, Trump acknowledged that rising petrol prices due to the war with Iran had played a role in the Republican Party’s defeat in the midterm elections. However, he defended his decision to launch military action against Iran.
Trump’s remarks come at a time when diplomatic efforts are underway to reduce tensions in the region and bring the war to an end. Details regarding the Gulf countries’ request to halt further attacks are based on the US president’s own claims.