Trump says he does not want, nor foresee, war with Iran

PALM BEACH, Fla. (Reuters) – US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he does not want, or foresee, war with Iran, after he earlier threatened to retaliate against the country following violent protests led by Iranian-backed militias at the US embassy in Baghdad. Asked about the possibility of tensions spiraling into a war with Iran, Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida: “Do I want to? No. I want to have peace. I like peace. And Iran should want to have peace more than anybody. So I don’t see that happening.” Earlier, Donald Trump said that Iran will be held accountable for lives lost in attacks on any US facilities. “Iran will be held fully responsible for lives lost, or damage incurred, at any of our facilities. They will pay a very BIG PRICE! This is not a Warning, it is a Threat,” Trump wrote on Twitter hours after protesters angry about US air strikes on Iraq hurled stones and torched a security post at the US Embassy in Baghdad. “The US Embassy in Iraq is, & has been for hours, SAFE! Many of our great Warfighters, together with the most lethal military equipment in the world, was immediately rushed to the site,” Trump said.