Trump responds to Iran missile strikes

WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump edged back from what many feared was the brink of war with Iran on Wednesday. He said in a televised address that Iran appeared to be “standing down” after an overnight missile strike on U.S. military positions in Iraq. No Americans died in the attack.

Is the United States standing down, too? The president announced new economic sanctions against Iran and called on NATO and the countries involved in the 2015 Iran nuclear deal to work with the United States to bring stability to the Middle East. Trump said that “Iran will never have a nuclear weapon” as long as he is commander-in-chief. He added that economic sanctions would stay in place until Iran works to “abandon its nuclear ambitions and end its support for terrorism.” The Iranian foreign minister tweeted Wednesday that his country had concluded its attacks and did not seek war after firing more than 20 missiles at two Iraqi bases housing U.S. troops.

Dig deeper: Read WORLD editor in chief Marvin Olasky’s interview with international affairs strategist George Friedman about the U.S. killing of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani last week.