Donald Trump signalled that the US would not respond militarily to Iran’s attacks on American forces in Iraq, in a bid to de-escalate the crisis in the Middle East triggered by his order to kill Iran’s top general.
Flanked by his top national security advisers, Mr Trump said on Wednesday at the White House there had been no American or Iraqi casualties after Iran fired more than a dozen ballistic missiles at two bases in Iraq on Tuesday night and that the attack had resulted in only “minimal damage”.
The US president, who had previously threatened “disproportionate” military action against Iran in the event of a retaliatory attack, said the US would instead move ahead with “punishing economic sanctions” while it evaluated “options in response to Iranian aggression”.