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Trump vows retaliation
U.S. President Donald Trump said the United States will strike Iran “very hard” in retaliation for Iranian strikes on US military assets in the region during a White House press conference on Wednesday.
“US President Donald Trump warned that the US will strike Iran “very hard””
Trump said, “We’re going to hit them very hard, because now it’s our turn to hit them,” and he asserted, “They sent five 8,000-mile-an-hour missiles at us.”
The Jerusalem Post also reported that Trump made similar statements earlier on Wednesday, saying the US will “beat the f***ing s***” out of Iran in retaliation for Tehran’s overnight launch of ballistic missiles towards US military bases in the region.
In the same reporting, the Jerusalem Post said Trump confirmed to Fox News reporter Trey Yingst that joint US-Saudi Arabia strikes against Iran-backed Iraqi militias were coordinated with the Iraqi government, and it cited a Wednesday New York Times report that around 20 Iranian technical advisors and IRGC operatives were killed in those strikes.
The Jerusalem Post added that Iranian state media claimed a US projectile hit Iran’s northwestern city of Piranshahr in West Azerbaijan, and it said no casualties were reported.
Netanyahu presses options
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump focused primarily on Iran during their meeting at the White House on Tuesday, according to a senior Israeli political official who described the discussion as “a real consultation and exchange of views.”
The official said Trump was considering three possible courses of action: reaching an agreement, maintaining the siege or renewing and intensifying military strikes, and he said, “In the end, it is his decision.”
The Jerusalem Post’s account of the meeting also included the official’s claim that Netanyahu did not raise a request for Israeli withdrawals, saying, “No request for withdrawals came up,” and it said Netanyahu showed maps to shape Trump’s understanding of Israel’s presence in the region.
In parallel reporting, Haaretz said the Iraqi pro-Iranian militia Kataib Hezbollah told Baghdad it is “inevitable” that it will retaliate for the joint U.S. and Saudi strikes on its forces, giving the Baghdad government a week to respond.
Haaretz also reported that a senior Israeli official said the two leaders shared a “genuine consultation” on the list of options concerning Iran, and it quoted the official saying, “Trump has three options: reach an agreement, not reach an agreement, or intensify the strikes.”
What’s at stake next
As the Iran file remained central to the Trump-Netanyahu talks, the senior Israeli official speaking to Haaretz said the relevant question was balancing “the sensitivity of the global economy” against the ability to maintain economic pressure on Iran.
“"the sensitivity of the global economy"”
Haaretz reported that the official said the conversation included “additional economic pressure – through kinetic and non-kinetic means,” and it added that Netanyahu did not state Israel’s preferred option while the final decision rested with Trump unless Iran attacks first.
The Jerusalem Post reported that Trump told Trey Yingst he would allow lines of communication with Iranian leadership to stay open and “let them keep talking,” even as he threatened to strike Iran “very hard.”
In the same Jerusalem Post account, it said Iran’s state TV claimed a US projectile hit Piranshahr and that no casualties were reported, while it also described the US-Saudi strikes on Iraq as killing around 20 IRGC operatives and Iranian advisors.
Haaretz further stated that Kataib Hezbollah set August 6 as the deadline for Baghdad to “show it can defend Iraq's sovereignty,” and it said the group suggested a response could target U.S. assets in Saudi Arabia.
