WASHINGTON (Reuters) - US President Donald Trump denied a plan to send huge crowds of troops to the Gulf in anticipation of a military confrontation with Iran, while Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei ruled out a possible war with the United States.
In response to a New York Times report on Washington's intention to send 120,000 troops to the Gulf, Trump told reporters at the White House on Tuesday that his administration had not planned to, describing the report as "false news."
We hope that we will not have to plan for that, and if we do, we will send more, "he said, referring to the possibility of sending large numbers of troops to the Gulf.
A few days ago, Washington announced the dispatch of the Abraham Lincoln, the Arlington and B52 bombers to the Gulf, citing information about Iranian threats targeting US interests in the region and specifically suggesting that US targets in the Gulf, Yemen, Syria and Iraq could be attacked By Iran directly or by groups loyal to it.
Trump had warned Iran if it had attacked US interests in the region, while Iran had warned it would target US forces in the region in response to any attack.
Trump's remarks in Washington coincided with statements made by Foreign Minister Maiko Pompeo in Russia, saying his country was not seeking a war with Iran.
Pompeo told a news conference with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Sochi that his country would respond appropriately to Iran if US interests were attacked.
Earlier, Reuters quoted US Ambassador to Saudi Arabia John Abizaid as saying that Washington must make a reasonable response that does not amount to war after determining who is behind the attacks on tankers off the coast of the UAE.
Abizaid said there was a need for a thorough investigation to understand what had happened and why it had happened, and then the reasonable response would come as far as war. "It is not in the interests of Iran, the United States or Saudi Arabia that a conflict erupts.
No war
In Tehran, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said today that there would be no war and that the choice of the Iranian people was to resist Washington.
Khamenei said in remarks broadcast on Iranian television that the principle of negotiating with Washington is wrong when it wants to target Iran's missiles and regional influence.
The Iranian leader explained that his country will not negotiate with the United States on the nuclear agreement, and stressed that the confrontation with Washington is to confront the wills and that the victor is the Iranian people.