Republican Senator James Lankford said on August 2 that U.S. President Donald Trump remains focused on reaching a diplomatic agreement with Iran and has "no desire" to launch military strikes, following the president's decision to halt a planned attack on the country.
Speaking on Fox News Sunday, the Oklahoma senator said the administration's priority continues to be negotiations rather than military escalation, The Hill reveals.
"The president’s still focused on trying to be able to get a deal," Lankford told host Shannon Bream.
Lankford said the United States possessed overwhelming military capabilities but argued that the Trump administration viewed the use of force as a means to encourage diplomacy rather than pursue conflict.
"We have the capability to be able to bomb them back to the Stone Age, but there’s no desire to be able to do that. We use military force, and the president’s been very careful on using military force only to be able to get them to the table to actually negotiate," he said.
Late on August 1, Trump announced that he had cancelled planned U.S. military strikes against Iran despite saying American forces remained "locked and loaded." In a post on Truth Social, the president said he made the decision after appeals from Iran and other Middle Eastern countries, adding that Iranian officials had agreed to the "perimeters" of a potential agreement.
"This would include the Immediate, Complete, and Total OPENING OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT, and an end to Iran’s nuclear threat," Trump wrote.
"Based on this request, I have agreed, for the future benefit of the WORLD and, likewise, the survival of a successful and prosperous Iran, to cancel the attack, subject to being able to rapidly make a DEAL," the president added, noting that the Israeli government supported the decision.
By Sabina Mammadli
