Tensions rise after Trump talks of ‘calm before storm’
DONALD Trump has sparked alarm after talking of a “clam before the storm”.
The US President made the remark during a photo opportunity with military leaders and their spouses before a dinner at the White House.
Following a Thursday meeting with defence officials in the cabinet room, he asked journalists: “Do you know what this represents?”
After being prompted to explain what he meant, he responded: “I don’t know. Maybe it’s the calm before the storm. Could be the calm, the calm before the storm.”
Another reporter questioned Mr Trump further and asked him if his statement was in reference to Iran or Isis, to which he replied: “We’ve got the world’s greatest military people in this room. I will tell you that.
“And we’re going to have a great evening.”
Reporters tried one final time to get a definitive answer and asked what the “storm” was. “You’ll find out,” came the reply.
Mr Trump’s ominous comments come during a time of strained relations between the US and two countries, Iran and North Korea.
The US leader is set to decertify the Iran nuclear deal, believing that the agreement is not in the national interest, according to the Washington Post.
The move would not break the US’s agreement with Iran, but it would start a 60-day clock for a congressional review period in which legislators could choose to re-impose sanctions, putting a spanner in US-Iran relations.
In his first speech to the United Nations General Assembly, Mr Trump criticised the deal for potentially providing “cover for the eventual construction of a nuclear programme”.
Tensions have also escalated between the US and North Korea recently.
In a succession of tweets, Donald Trump referred to the country’s leader Kim Jong-un as “rocket man”.
During the cabinet meeting on Thursday, Donald Trump talked about North Korea and reportedly pushed military leaders to be faster in giving him “military options”.