U.S. President Donald Trump said he did not urge Iran to attack American cities. He said media outlets took his comparison of the war’s consequences and gasoline costs out of context.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said he was comparing a temporary rise in gasoline costs with the bombing of two major U.S. cities, Los Angeles and San Diego. He said he was not proposing that an adversary attack those two cities. Earlier, he described their possible destruction as a “small price” for ending the war with Iran.
The White House had said Trump was discussing what could have happened if the United States had not launched military action against Iran. On Thursday, Oct. 8, Trump also said the United States would not resume strikes on Iran before the Nov. 3 midterm elections, the Associated Press reported. That separate statement does not resolve the dispute over his earlier remarks.