Trump Says 'No Attack on Iran Today' ... But Leaves the Possibility of Military Action Open

[Financial News] U.S. President Donald Trump said on the 25th (local time) that he would not launch a military attack against Iran, while taking a cautious stance and leaving the possibility of future military action completely open.
The Jerusalem Post and other foreign media outlets reported that Trump, who had said the previous day that military attacks on Iran could resume as early as the 25th, ruled out an attack today in response to reporters' questions, saying, “Would I tell you that in advance? The answer is ‘no.’ There will be no attack today.”
Trump had earlier said he had not yet decided whether to resume attacks on Iran. He stressed, “The whole decision I have to make is whether I should complete a task that could be finished very easily or pursue negotiations and reach an agreement.”
Trump added that the United States was closely monitoring Iran's nuclear facility known as Pickaxe Mountain, as well as three other facilities that are believed to have been hit in the past. However, he said, “There is currently very little unusual activity there.”
The remarks came shortly after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that Israel faced “a real and present existential threat” from Iran and that little time remained for the United States and Israel to take action. In a video of his visit to an air-defense missile battery of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Netanyahu reiterated his hard-line stance, saying, “I warn our enemies: You will be hit with a blow beyond anything you can imagine.”
Meanwhile, U.S. government officials believe that a joint U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran is a question of “when,” not “whether.” One U.S. official said, “President Trump appears to want a large-scale strike against Iran. The only question left is when it will be carried out.”
In an interview with Fox News Channel, Trump said of Iran, “A choice has to be made between finishing this with a military strike and reaching a negotiated settlement.”
The prevailing view in Washington is that Trump is likely to defer his final decision until after the midterm elections scheduled for November 3.
That day, Trump warned in a post on Rapid Response 47, the White House's rapid-response social media account, that if Iran possessed nuclear weapons, it could actually use them and cause a security and energy catastrophe.
Trump said that while the possibility of resuming attacks on Iran remained open, a “very big and beautiful deal” was also possible. Iran, too, wanted to reach a negotiated settlement, but “the key question is whether Iran can stick to it,” he said.


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