No American or Iraqi lives were lost in Iranian attacks on US bases: Donald Trump

Donald Trump began his address to the nation by saying that as long as he is President, Iran will never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon.

By: Express Web Desk

New Delhi | Updated: January 9, 2020 07:54 AM IST

3 min read

Donald Trump reiterates threat to target Iranian cultural sites

“No American or Iraqi lives were lost in Iranian attacks on US bases,” Trump asserted. (Photo: The New York Times)

Hours after Iran launched at least a dozen ballistic missiles on US bases in Iraq, US President Donald Trump, in a national address Wednesday, stated that ‘no Americans were hurt’ in last night’s attack’. He informed that the early warning systems ensured that there was minimal damage to the infrastructure from the Iranian missiles.

“No American or Iraqi lives were lost in Iranian attacks on US bases,” Trump asserted.

Trump began his address to the nation by saying that as long as he is President, Iran will never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon. He emphasised that the Middle Eastern country should give up its nuclear ambitions while warning of additional economic sanctions.

READ | UAE says not affected in US, Iran tensions

“ISIS is a natural enemy of Iran, we should work together to defeat it,” Trump said as he talked about improving ties with Iran.

“Peace and stability cannot prevail in the Middle East as long as Iran continues to foment terrorism,” he added.

Meanwhile, Reuters reported citing US and European government sources familiar with intelligence assessments that Iran is believed to have deliberately avoided American military casualties while retaliating to the assassination of Qassem Suleimani.

“They wanted to respond but almost certainly not to escalate,” one of the sources told Reuters.

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Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has stated that Tehran took “proportionate measures” in self-defense and did not seek war with the US.

UK PM Boris Johnson urged Trump to de-escalate

Reuters reported that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke to President Donald Trump on Wednesday to discuss Iranian missile attacks on military bases in Iraq which housed US troops, Johnson’s spokesman were quoted as saying. Johnson urged Trump to seek to de-escalate the situation urgently to avoid further conflict, the spokesman said, adding that the two leaders had agreed to keep in touch.

(With inputs from Reuters)

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