The Trump administration is not seeking conflict with Iran and its military buildup in the Persian Gulf is aimed entirely at deterring Iranian aggression and threats to US interests and international shipping, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Tuesday.

On a visit to US Central Command in Florida just before the defense establishment was jolted by the sudden departure of the acting Pentagon chief, Pompeo said he is confident the American military is acting to confront any challenge. It is prepared and ready, he said, to respond to any attack by Iran on US interests or Iranian disruption of international shipping lanes through which much of the world’s oil supplies flow.

View Comments (3)

A day after the Defense Department announced the deployment of an additional 1,000 troops to the region, Pompeo stressed that US President Donald Trump doesn’t want war and only wants to re-establish a deterrent to Iranian threats.

“President Trump does not want war, and we will continue to communicate that message, while doing the things that are necessary to protect American interests in the region,” he told reporters at Central Command headquarters in Tampa….(Excerpts from The Times of Israel article by Matthew Lee)