President Donald Trump on Monday evening denied reports that the top US military officer had flagged the risks of a major operation against Iran, saying Washington would “easily” beat Tehran in any war.
US media reported that General Dan Caine, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, had warned of various risks associated with strikes against Iran including a long-term entanglement.
But Trump said on his Truth Social network that it was “100 percent incorrect” that Caine was “against us going to war with Iran.”
“General Caine, like all of us, would like not to see War but, if a decision is made on going against Iran at a Military level, it is his opinion that it will be something easily won,” Trump wrote.
“He has not spoken of not doing Iran, or even the fake limited strikes that I have been reading about, he only knows one thing, how to WIN and, if he is told to do so, he will be leading the pack.”
The Washington Post said Caine had expressed concern at the White House and Pentagon that munition shortages and a lack of allied support could increase danger to US personnel.
And the Wall Street Journal said both the top general and other Pentagon officials have warned of risks such as US and allied casualties as well as the danger of US air defences being depleted if its forces strike Iran, reports AFP.
The Axios news outlet meanwhile said Caine had warned of the United States “becoming entangled in a prolonged conflict.”
Trump’s roving negotiator Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner had also been urging the president to hold off attacks and give diplomacy a chance, Axios said.
The US president however accused the media outlets of writing “incorrectly, and purposefully so.”
Trump’s first option with Tehran is always diplomacy but he is willing to use lethal force if necessary, his spokeswoman said yesterday.
Washington has deployed a massive military force to the Middle East, sending two aircraft carriers as well as more than a dozen other ships, a large number of warplanes and other assets to the region.
The USS Gerald R Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier, has reached the US naval base of Souda Bay on Crete, en route to joining the massive military build-up in the Middle East.
The ground forces of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards held military drills on the country’s southern coast, state TV reported yesterday.
Meanwhile, Iran’s government spokeswoman said yesterday that students have a right to protest but must “understand the red lines”, in the first official reaction to renewed anti-government rallies on campuses.
University students kicked off a new semester with gatherings over the weekend in which they revived slogans from nationwide protests against the country’s clerical leadership that peaked in January and were met by a deadly crackdown.
“Sacred things and the flag are two examples of these red lines that we must protect and not cross or deviate from, even at the height of anger,” government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani said.
She added that Iran’s students “have wounds in their hearts and have seen scenes that may upset and anger them; this anger is understandable”.
In a separate development, an Iranian Army helicopter crashed into a fruit market in the central province of Isfahan yesterday, killing the pilot, co-pilot and two merchants, state media reported.
The helicopter came down in the city of Dorcheh, causing a fire that was put out by emergency services, the reports added.
