The Trump administration has confirmed that the US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites targeted stores with enriched uranium, raising Middle East tensions. Meanwhile, Qatar has issued a safety alert, while the White House insists bipartisan leaders were informed, as President Trump hints at a possible regime change.
Reaffirming that The Trump administration remains resolute on its recent attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, while speaking with ABC News early on Monday morning, suggested that Iran was an “imminent threat” and that President Donald Trump is the “first president to have the guts to actually do something about it.”
Reiterating the operation’s success, Leavitt further told the network that the attacks “took away Iran’s ability to create a nuclear bomb.” Ephasising on the Trump administration’s confidence in the targets, the Press Secretary underlined that the US has a “high degree of confidence” that enriched uranium was stored at the locations targeted by American forces.
“The president would not have initiated the strikes had we not had confidence in that,” she said, according to The Associated Press.
Amid speculation regarding whether or not the US is seeking a regime change in Iran, Leavitt sought to allay concerns, telling reporters, “The president was just simply raising a question that I think many people around the world are asking.”
“If they continue to refuse to use diplomacy in the future, why shouldn’t the Iranian people revolt against this cruel terrorist regime?” she quipped.
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Pushing back against criticism surrounding reports that congressional Democrats were not notified ahead of the strike, Leavitt told Fox News, “We did make bipartisan calls,” and added that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries “couldn’t be reached.”
“We made these calls as a courtesy,” she stressed, while adding that the White House was “not required to inform anyone” of the military plans but wanted to keep bipartisan leaders informed out of respect for Congress.
Meanwhile, the US Embassy in Qatar placed an alert on its website calling for American citizens to “shelter in place until further notice.”
Foreign embassy advisories “do not necessarily reflect the existence of specific or credible threats,” The Associated Press quoted Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari as saying.
“We would like to reassure the public that the security situation in the State remains stable,” the spokesperson added.
Tensions flared after the US entered the Israel-Iran conflict last week, with American bombers attacking key nuclear sites, including Fordow in Iran, causing widespread damage to the critical infrastructure. The extent of the damage, however, is still being ascertained.
ALSO READ: Israeli Strikes Target Key Iranian Government Facilities & Tehran’s Prison In Latest Wave of Attacks
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