US politicians, analysts warn Trump against war with Iran

US politicians and military experts have warned the Trump administration against any provocative moves after Iran shot down an intruding US surveillance drone in its airspace Thursday. 

Congresswoman Jackie Speier accused the Trump administration of pursuing certain policies meant to provoke Iran and push the US into war with the Islamic Republic.

"The actions by this administration are so provocative that they are creating an environment that will destine us to go to war," the member of US Democratic House Intelligence Committee warned.

Speier blamed the Trump administration for current tensions with Iran, saying a majority of US House members are against any act of war.

"We are provoking them," she added, referring to Iran. "We are taunting them. And it is not in the interests of the American people, nor our service members, to be going into a war that is not required."

Speier described the US president’s decision to abandon the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers as “destructive and belligerent”.

"You don't sign an agreement and them revoke it for no reason when everyone—everyone from the Secretary of State on down—had said that Iran was complying with the JCPOA," Speier said.

Trump pulled his country out of the nuclear deal in May 2018 and reimposed harsh sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

The remarks came after the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) shot down an unmanned US aircraft early Thursday after it breached the country's airspace.

Speier firmly put the responsibility on the US administration and the president, saying American lawmakers "have to speak up strongly against him". 

A retired American military officer also accused Trump of disregarding the advice of his administration’s top officials when it comes to Iran.

"The president is listening to the wrong people, and again he's making short-term announcements and decisions on an issue that's a long-term problem," Lieutenant General Mark Hertling said.

US military pushing Trump 

Leading US magazine the Atlantic said Trump might not want war with Iran, but the US military is “steering” the president’s policies in regard to Iran.

"At a time when administration officials insist that they seek not war but diplomacy, America’s Iran policy is being steered to a large extent by the military,” the publication said.

US Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said the Trump administration would inflict “severe pain” on Iran.

“Here’s what Iran needs to get ready for: severe pain inside their country,” he said. “If they’re itching for a fight, they’re gonna get one.”

President Trump approved military strikes against Iran before dawn Friday but pulled back from launching them on Thursday night, the New York Times wrote.

PressTV-Trump approves Iran strike, then abruptly pulls back: NYT

President Trump approved strikes against Iran before dawn Friday but abruptly pulled back from launching them, the New York Times reports. 

The paper cited military and diplomatic officials as saying that the US president had initially approved attacks on a handful of Iranian targets, like radar and missile batteries.

"The operation was underway in its early stages when it was called off," the Times said, citing what it called a senior administration official.

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