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US President Donald Trump has expressed doubts about the possibility of renewed war with Iran, saying the chances of another military conflict are “very low”.
He made the remarks ahead of a meeting with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, whose country has been involved in mediation efforts.
Trump is scheduled to meet the Qatari prime minister at the White House on Monday. It will be his first meeting with a foreign leader since his party suffered a major setback in the midterm elections.
Before the elections, Trump had threatened to launch military operations against Iran. Following his party’s defeat, however, he has cited the Iran war as one of the reasons behind the electoral setback.
In an interview with CNN on Sunday, Trump said the possibility of renewed fighting was very low but cautioned that much would depend on whether Tehran agreed to sign a deal.
“If necessary, I will strike again. We hit them very hard. So hard that you don’t know,” he said.
Before Trump’s interview, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said peace negotiations had been put on hold as Tehran assessed the political implications of the US midterm election results.
Speaking on state television, Araghchi said mediators had had little to do over the past few days because the US election results had come as a shock to everyone.
He said it remained to be seen how long it would take for the impact of the election results to subside before decisions could be made on how to proceed with the negotiations.
