U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz said Sunday that President Trump hasn’t ruled out sending troops to Iran but emphasized that any deployment would look nothing like past U.S. wars.
Mr. Waltz said on “Fox News Sunday” that Mr. Trump is committed to preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and is “never going to take options off the table.”
“This isn’t going to be another 2003 Iraq,” the ambassador said. “There are not going to be hundreds of thousands of troops occupying urban areas somewhere, certainly not Tehran.”
He added that the U.S. military has “forces that are dedicated to handling [weapons of mass destruction] all over the world, should we have to seize it from a rogue nation or otherwise.”
Mr. Trump in recent days has declared Iran “totally defeated” just two weeks into the conflict. He posted on Truth Social that the Islamic republic “wants a deal” — though not one he would accept — without offering details on any negotiations. His comments came as his administration pushed back against media coverage of the war’s progress.
Democrats disagree with his take.
“We’ve been told that we won a stunning victory, that it’s all over. Well, no, it’s not over,” Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut said on “Fox News Sunday.” “There are still very evil people in charge in Tehran who may decide to build a nuclear weapon.”
“So that’s the key question: How does this end?” Mr. Himes said.
The president had previously predicted that major combat operations could last “four to five weeks” or longer. He has since said the conflict would continue “as long as it’s necessary,” insisting U.S. attacks are “way ahead of schedule.”
Meanwhile, Iran’s new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei — appointed after the assassination of his father — issued his first statement warning that attacks on U.S. assets will continue unless bases hosting American forces in the region are closed.
