CNN
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President Donald Trump warned Thursday of the possibility of a “massive conflict” in the Middle East that could take place “quickly.”
US officials are increasingly concerned that Israel’s risk of hitting Iran has risen after Tehran said on Thursday that the International Atomic Energy Agency will strengthen its nuclear activity after passing a resolution that the country is not complying with its imacial commitment, a senior US official told CNN.
Asked about a potential strike on Thursday, Trump said it was “a very common possibility.”
“I don’t want to say it’s imminent, but it can happen very often,” Trump told White House reporters.
The US embassy in the Middle East conducted an emergency action assessment this week, with the US monitoring the threat environment in the region, and the process is ongoing, officials said.
Asked that the Israelis had told him to urge US officials to leave the area, Trump replied: “They said nothing to me, but I looked and said there could be a massive conflict.”
He explained the deliberations that led him to a decision.
“We have a lot of Americans in this area. Look, we have to tell them to go out because something could happen to them. And I don’t give a warning and I don’t want the missiles to be something flying into their buildings, so I had to do that.
Trump also said Israel does not want to target Iran to Iran as negotiations on a potential nuclear deal continue.
“I want to agree with Iran. We’re pretty close to the agreement. … As far as I think there’s an agreement, it blows it off, so maybe it actually helps it, but when asked about a potential Israeli strike, he said.