President Donald Trump said on Sunday that renewed US strikes on Iran are highly unlikely as long as negotiations with Tehran keep moving, cooling fears of a fresh military escalation just days after his party's heavy defeat in the midterm elections.
Speaking to CNN in a phone interview, Trump said it would depend on whether Iran signs what he called a very strong agreement. "The answer is, highly unlikely it's going to be necessary," he said, while adding that the United States has identified potential targets, including 38 bridges he said could be knocked down "in literally one hour" if strikes resume.
Trump had hinted before the elections that major military action could resume once voting was over, but no large-scale operation has followed. On Sunday afternoon he posted on Truth Social that "Task Force Iron Gate is in full force and effect" on Iran. The campaign, first reported by Reuters on Saturday, aims to crack down on Tehran's movement of advanced weapons and other sanctioned material across its land borders and through the Caspian Sea.
The president is also keeping diplomacy moving. He is due to meet Qatar's Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, at the White House on Monday to discuss efforts to reach a new ceasefire and restart nuclear negotiations with Iran. Qatar has acted as a key intermediary between Washington and Tehran. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sunday that the talks had so far made little progress, with no sign of an imminent breakthrough.
Meanwhile, the White House is changing hands at the top. Longtime adviser Stephen Miller starts work as chief of staff on Monday, replacing Susie Wiles. Trump announced the move on Friday, calling Miller one of his most trusted advisers. The appointment has drawn criticism from industries that rely heavily on immigrant labor, since Miller is the architect of the administration's deportation policy.
In a television interview broadcast on Sunday, Trump struck a softer tone on immigration, saying his deportation policy had been "too tough" on people who have lived in the country for years, and that he would like to reach an immigration deal with congressional Democrats, who take control of Congress next year.
Trump also cleared up a lighter story from the weekend. He said he was only joking when he offered the vacant White House press secretary job to UFC president Dana White on Saturday. "I was only kidding, but Dana loves the idea," he told reporters. White is due to meet Trump on Monday. The press secretary role has been vacant since Katie Zacharia left in October after less than a week in the job.
The political backdrop remains tense. Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress in last Tuesday's elections, and incoming House Speaker Hakeem Jeffries has said he would support an effort to remove Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Trump has vowed a political comeback and said he has ordered the Justice Department to examine Democratic threats to impeach members of his administration, which he described as "extortion."
Sources: Malay Mail, DD India, The Tribune, Reuters, Just Security.
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