Trump says doesn’t want war with Iran but there’ll be ‘obliteration’ if it happens
Trump and rouhani
The United States Donald Trump on Friday said he is not looking for war with its foe Iran. However, he did not rule the possibility as he warned that if conflict did occurs then it would result in "obliteration."
"I'm not looking for war, and if there is it'll be obliteration like you've never seen before. But I'm not looking to do that," Trump told NBC News in an interview a day after he aborted a planned air strike against Iranian targets in retaliation for Tehran shooting down a US drone.
On Thursday, an Iranian surface-to-air missile destroyed a US Global Hawk surveillance drone. Tehran said the drone was shot down over its territory and Washington said it occurred in international airspace over the Strait of Hormuz.
The incident aggravated fears of a direct military clash between the longtime foes. Oil futures rose more than 1% to above $65 per barrel on Friday over worries about possible disruptions to crude exports from the Gulf.
Trump's decision in May to tighten sanctions to try to eliminate Iran's oil exports led to the latest tensions. In May 2018, Trump unilaterally withdrew Washington from a 2015 accord between Iran and major powers under which Tehran curtailed its path to building a nuclear bomb in return for sanctions relief.
(With inputs from agencies)