US President Donald Trump is giving mixed signals about whether he plans to attack Iran or prepare for war, despite saying he is in favor of talks.
The United States has moved military assets closer to the Middle East in the past few weeks, raising concerns that the potential for war is increasing.
Trump said on January 22 that the US had a weapon headed towards Iran, although he also said that although he would not like to see anything happen, the US was keeping a very close eye on Iran. The same day, just hours earlier, he said Iran wanted to negotiate and the US was ready to do so.
“Iran wants to talk and we’ll talk,” Trump said in a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, without giving further details.
Trump’s stated reason for attacking Iran was to stop the regime from killing protesters. Since protests began in late December, he has repeatedly warned that the US would attack Iran if the government used lethal force against civilians.
The US-based Human Rights Activist News Agency (HRANA) says at least 5,520 protesters have been killed since anti-government protests began. Iranian officials put the death toll at 3,117, including “civilians”, security forces and those identified as “terrorists”. CNN cannot independently confirm the number of deaths.
Protests have subsided in Iran after security forces cracked down on the Islamic Republic in its deadliest crackdown yet.
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