US president leaves open the possibility while ruling out having Kurdish forces in Iraq mount an invasion
US-Israel war on Iran – follow live
Donald Trump on Saturday offered only a vague description of what he meant by his demand for an unconditional surrender by Iran’s current regime, while leaving open the possibility of deploying American troops on the ground but ruling out asking Kurdish forces to mount an invasion.
“I said unconditional. It’s where they cry uncle or when they can’t fight any long longer and there’s nobody around to cry uncle — that could happen too,” Trump said when pressed by the Guardian aboard Air Force One.
The lack of specifics in Trump’s response made it difficult to ascertain his political endgame for the conflict, an issue that has dogged the White House as it faces scrutiny about what the president wants from Iran and how he would play a role in selecting its next leader.
