President Trump signaled that he would not order fresh military action against Iran following Tuesday night’s missile attacks, as foreign diplomats said Tehran’s limited strikes had fallen short of American red lines.
In a dramatic White House address flanked by senior military officers, Trump warned that the United States would not tolerate Iranian aggression and promised new sanctions on Tehran. But after saying that Iran would not be allowed to build a nuclear weapon, he turned quickly to a damage assessment.
“I’m pleased to inform you: The American people should be extremely grateful and happy no Americans were harmed in last night’s attack by the Iranian regime,” he said amid the marble pillars and glittering chandeliers of the White House Grand Foyer. “We suffered no casualties, all of our soldiers are safe, and only minimal damage was sustained at our military bases.”
Western diplomats in the Middle East said they had been advised by American officials that the U.S. was prepared to accept a limited amount of damage from the Iranian missile strikes without considering a military response.
“It was expressed along the lines that a number of missiles would be OK as long as there was no significant damage and definitely no loss of U.S. lives,” said one.
Iranian forces fired more than a dozen missiles at Iraqi bases housing American troops before dawn on Wednesday morning in response to the U.S. drone strike that killed Iran’s most senior military leader Gen. Qassem Soleimani. It represented a major escalation in tension in an already restive region.
However, reports suggested some of the Iranian missiles missed their targets or malfunctioned. And the Associated Press said that Finnish and Lithuanian troops at one of the targeted bases had time to seek shelter after being warned of impending attacks.
So while Iranian state media were able to claim as many as 80 American casualties in the attack, Trump was able to step away from the brink of war.
“Iran appears to be standing down, which is a good thing for all parties concerned and a very good thing for the world,” he said. “No American or Iraqi lives were lost because of the precautions taken, the dispersal of forces, and an early warning system that worked very well.”
The president had spent the morning huddled with Vice President Mike Pence and senior aides in the White House situation room. The text of his remarks was being finalized right up to the moment he delivered his speech.
He used the moment to offer further justification for the killing of Soleimani, “the world’s top terrorist,” and called on allies such as the United Kingdom and Germany to follow the U.S. in walking away from the Iran nuclear deal. He called on NATO nations to do more in countering the threat from Iran and said America’s armed forces were more powerful than ever.
“The fact that we have this great military and equipment, however, does not mean we have to use it,” he said. “We do not want to use it. American strength, both military and economic, is the best deterrent.”
That balance had been successful in facing down Iran, according to Matt Schlapp, chairman of the American Conservative Union, as that nation realized it could not win.
“They may be crazy, but they are just smart enough to avoid making Donald Trump a military foe,” he said. “They are clearly rattled that there’s an American president who’s not going to take any crap, and their retaliation was incredibly timid for that reason.”
Trump spent the day speaking to allies, including Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who had publicly urged a de-escalation.
Tom Tugendhat, the chairman of the British foreign affairs committee in the last parliament, said he was encouraged that the immediate crisis had been averted.
“This has gone better than many feared,” he said. “What looks like posturing may be the best outcome. There is always a danger we have not seen the end, but, for the moment, we have to hope that further escalation has been avoided.”
