US President Donald Trump, in his first comment on the Iranian attack on the US Al Udeid base in Qatar, said that “Iran’s response to the destruction of its nuclear facilities was very weak.”
In statements on Monday evening, Trump added, “I would like to thank Iran for giving us advance notice, which allowed for no casualties,” calling on Iran to move forward toward peace in the region and encouraging Israel to do the same.
The New York Times reported that Trump is not planning to respond to the Iranian attack on the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
A Senior White House official told CNN that the US administration had anticipated an Iranian response after the US strikes targeting Tehran’s nuclear sites early Sunday morning.
He added that President Donald Trump “does not want further military escalation in the region” but is “prepared to escalate US military intervention if necessary.”
The US official added: “We knew they would respond. They had a similar response after the assassination of Qassem Soleimani [the former commander of the Revolutionary Guard’s Quds Force, who was targeted in a US airstrike in 2020].”
The official continued that initial assessments indicate that the missiles launched by Iran on Monday “did not hit their targets.”
