The press secretary’s comments came in response to Washington Free Beacon report
President Donald Trump hopes for peace in the Middle East but isn’t “afraid to use strength” again if necessary, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday.
“We look forward to sustaining a long and durable peace in the region and the president wants to do that through a diplomatic solution. But as he proved on Saturday night, he is not afraid to use strength if we need to do it,” Leavitt said during Thursday’s press briefing.
Her comments came in response to a Washington Free Beacon report that the United States and Israel are jointly monitoring Iran and are prepared to resume strikes if the regime attempts to rebuild its nuclear or ballistic missile programs.
“Does that align with the president’s thinking?” the Free Beacon’s Collin Anderson asked.
“The president … views the Middle East on its way to peace and prosperity, and the president used strength on Saturday night. The whole world saw that the United States is indeed the most lethal fighting force in the world with those precision strikes on Saturday evening. But the president wants peace. He always has,” Leavitt said.
The president and his team are in continued communication with Iranian leaders as well as Gulf and Arab partners to negotiate the future of the Islamic Republic, according to Leavitt. Trump hopes diplomatic negotiations will lead to a “new era” of peace in the Middle East, she added.
“As for our alliance with the State of Israel and that friendship and that partnership between the United States and the State of Israel, I would argue it has never been stronger,” Leavitt said.
Trump also acknowledged Wednesday that he was willing to carry out additional strikes on Iran if it attempted to rebuild its nuclear program.
“But I’m not going to have to worry about that,” he added. “It’s gone for years, years. Very tough to rebuild.”
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