Press chief says US president considering ‘many, many’ options amid deadly regime crackdown on protesters
Donald Trump is “unafraid to use military force on Iran” the White House said on Monday as the Iranian regime still faces widespread unrest across the country.
Speaking to Fox News, the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said that although diplomacy remained Trump’s “first option”, he was “unafraid to use the lethal force and might of the United States military if and when he deems that necessary”.
“Airstrikes would be one of the many, many options that are on the table for the commander-in-chief,” Leavitt continued, adding: “He’s made it quite clear he certainly doesn’t want to see people being killed in the streets of Tehran, and unfortunately, that’s something we’re seeing right now.”
Pointing to last year’s US strikes on Iran’s three major nuclear sites – which subsequent satellite imagery suggested caused more limited damage than Trump had claimed – Leavitt said of Trump’s potential use of US military force: “Nobody knows that better than Iran.”
