WASHINGTON – Earlier this week, President Donald Trump reportedly toldDefence Secretary Patrick Shanahan that he is unwilling to see the US go towar with Iran as tensions between the two sides show no sign of cooling.
Donald Trump may not need Congress’ go-ahead to launch a war against Iran,something that his advisers “have been quietly building” a case for amidmounting sanctions, NBC News’ Jonathan Allen reports.
The author claims that the plan’s key elements include drawing linksbetween al-Qaeda and Iran to portray the Islamic Republic as a terrorthreat to the US, “which is exactly what administration officials have beendoing in recent weeks”.
“That could give Trump the justification he needs to fight Iran under thestill-in-effect 2001 use-of-force resolution without congressionalapproval”, Allen argues, adding that Congress will unlikely grant the USpresident “new authority to strike Iran under the current circumstances”.
The author’s comments come after the New York Times quoted several unnamedsenior US officials as saying that “[President Donald] Trump was firm insaying he did not want a military clash with the Iranians”.
Earlier, Trump was reportedly frustrated with his top advisers over Iran,saying that the hard-line policy pushed by Bolton and Secretary of StateMike Pompeo could lead to the involvement of the US in a military strugglewith Tehran, breaking Trump’s campaign pledge to avoid costly foreign wars.
The Washington Post cited an unnamed source as saying that Trump wants tospeak with the Iranian leaders and find a diplomatic solution as he isuncomfortable with talks of war with the country and “all this ‘regimechange’ talk.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, for his part, voiced hope that a warwould not be unleashed in the Middle East as Washington-Tehran tensionspersist.
“As Leader of the Islamic Revolution has also announced, we are certainthat no war will break out because neither we want a war, nor has anyonethe idea or illusion that it can confront Iran in the region”, Zarif saidin an interview with the IRNA news agency on Saturday.
His remarks were preceded by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenenistressing that “the Iranian nation’s definite option will be resistance inthe face of the US” and that “in this confrontation, the US would be forcedinto a retreat”.
Tensions have been simmering since Trump announced last May the US’withdrawal from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal with Iran, also known as theJoint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), reinstating harsh sanctionsagainst the Islamic Republic. – Sputnik