DEADLY CRASH...
US, Iran Disagree on Casualty Figures after Airstrikes
Contrary to reports by Iran that it killed over 80 US soldiers in the missile attacks it launched yesterday in Iraq, President Donald Trump has said no American lives were lost in the bases, noting that the US is ready to embrace peace.
In a live address on Wednesday, Trump said, “I am pleased to inform you, the American people should be extremely grateful and happy, no American were harmed in last night attack by the Iranian regime. All of our soldiers are safe; only minimal damage was sustained at our military bases. No American or Iraqi lives were lost because of the precautions taken, the dispersal forces and the early warning systems that worked very well.
“People and leaders of Iran, we want you to have a future and a great future that you deserve; the one with prosperity and harmony. The United States is ready to embrace peace.”
Trump, however, said matterof-fact that Iran must abandon its penchant for terrorism and nuclear weapons.
“Your campaign of terror, murder and mayhem would not be tolerated any longer. It will not be allowed to go forward.
“As long as I am the president of the United States, Iran will never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon. Iran must abandon its nuclear ambition and ends its support for terrorism.
“The time has come for the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Russia and China to recognise this reality. They must now break away from the Iran nuclear deal.
A more reflective Trump said, “Iran appears to be standing down which is a good thing for all parties concerned and a good thing for the world.”
He therefore called on other world powers to make a deal with Iran to make the world a safer and peaceful place.
“We must all work together in making a deal with Iran that makes the world a safer and more peaceful place. We must also make a deal that makes Iran thrive, prosper and take advantage of its enormous potential.”
Trump added that Iran can be a great country but peace and stability cannot prevail in the Middle East as long as Iran continues to foment violence, unrest, hatred and war.
Iran had said its Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) killed over 80 US soldiers in a missile strike on US forces in
Iraq on Wednesday.
Mehr News, an Iranian state-run media outlet, said a source in the IRGC told the agency that besides the soldiers killed, 200 people in the US airbase of Ain al-Assad in Anbar province in western Iraq were wounded.
“According to the accurate reports of our sources in this area, at least 80 American terrorist troops were killed and some 200 others were wounded, who were immediately transferred out of the airbase by helicopters,” the news agency said.
“Ain al-Assad air base was a strategic site for the US which was used to support drones. Despite the fact that Americans had been on high alert, their air defense was unable to respond.”