Tense debate in White House over military strike on Iran
No tough action for now but officials foresee rocky months if Iranians hit US targets in Iraq
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said a US offer to help the country fight the coronavirus pandemic is strange as the Americans themselves "face shortages".
WASHINGTON • Inside the White House in recent days, a tense debate erupted among President Donald Trump and his top advisers on whether the United States should escalate military action against Iran.
One group, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien, urged a tough response to rocket attacks that had killed two Americans at a base north of Baghdad, arguing that tough action while Iran's leaders were battling the coronavirus ravaging the country could finally push them into direct negotiations.
But Defence Secretary Mark Esper and General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, pushed back.
The Pentagon and intelligence agencies did not have clear evidence that the attacks had been ordered by Iran, they argued, and warned that a large-scale response could draw the United States into a wider war with Iran.
The military's position prevailed. Mr Trump authorised air strikes against five militia weapons depots inside Iraq, carried out at night to limit possible human toll.
The meeting is a glimpse of the crosswinds buffeting the Trump administration's policy towards Iran less than three months after Mr Trump ordered the killing of top Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani.
US officials say the President has little appetite for a dangerous escalation with Iran, and leaders in Iran are now consumed with trying to tamp down the coronavirus pandemic that has devastated the country.
But the officials believe the coming months will be rocky, with Iran using paramilitary forces to try to hit American targets in Iraq, and the United States retaliating - even if US officials are divided over the best response.
One primary goal of the Trump administration's "maximum pressure" campaign of economic sanctions is to so cripple Iran's economy that the government will agree to negotiate a new agreement over its nuclear programme.
That has not happened, and many US intelligence officials and regional experts do not believe Iran is close to making such a move - especially with the chance that Mr Trump could be out of office early next year.
In the meantime, administration officials are reviewing an array of additional targets, including more militia weapons depots and logistics storehouses, as well as strikes against militia leaders and possibly Iranian ships.
Covert operations and cyber attacks are also under consideration, officials said.
Meanwhile, Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said yesterday that an offer by the United States to help Iran fight the coronavirus pandemic is strange.
"Several times Americans have offered to help Iran to contain the virus. Aside from the fact that there are suspicions about this virus being created by America... their offer is strange since they face shortages in their fight against the virus," said Ayatollah Khamenei in a televised speech.
"Iran has the capability to overcome any kind of crisis, including the coronavirus outbreak."
NYTIMES, REUTERS
