Confrontation at UN as US Keeps Iran Action on the Table
Though some new footage suggest protests in Iran may have cooled down, tensions between Iran and the US are running hot, including an exchange at the UN. The White House says President Trump is keeping all options open.
Iran-US Tensions
REPORTER:
New footage from Iran’s capital suggests mass protests have eased after a violent government crackdown. But tensions with the US are still high. As John Van Trieste reports, what comes next will be up to US President Donald Trump.
REPORTER:
The streets of Tehran appear calm with two weeks of anti-government unrest seemingly cooled. But people are unsure if the calm will hold. US President Donald Trump hasn’t ruled out intervention in Iran, where, by some estimates, around 2,500 protesters are now dead. Some say Washington will think twice.
REPORTER:
It has reason to hesitate. Iran struck back after US strikes last year, hitting a nearby military base.
BITE:
We gave them a firm response last time, I don't think they dare to attack again.
REPORTER:
But others aren’t so sure, especially those who think Israel is pushing the US to strike.
BITE:
I think the possibility of [Trump attacking Iran] is high, because he is not mentally stable, and his advisers are in majority Jewish lobbies. They only talk on behalf of Israel.
REPORTER:
Trump says his demand that protesters be spared execution is being met. And so, for now, US-Iran tensions are playing in the diplomatic and financial realms.
REPORTER:
But at the UN, US and Iranian diplomats have traded ominous statements.
BITE:
Colleagues, let me be clear: President Trump is a man of action, not endless talk like we see at the United Nations. He has made it clear all options are on the table to stop the slaughter. And no one should know that better than the leadership of the Iranian regime.
BITE:
Iran seeks neither escalation nor confrontation. However, any act of aggression, direct or indirect, will be met with a decisive, proportionate and lawful response, under Article 51 of the charter.
REPORTER:
Meanwhile, the US has sanctioned five Iranian officials and a prison it says are involved in the protest crackdown.
REPORTER:
Further US plans, though, are tightly under wraps.
BITE:
The truth is, only President Trump knows what he's going to do and a very, very small team of advisors are read into his thinking on that, and as I just told you, he continues to closely monitor the situation on the ground in Iran.
REPORTER:
The latest footage out of Tehran, at least, suggests protests may have eased. But even if Iran’s government has survived these weeks of mass anger on the streets, it’s not in the clear as Trump decides where US-Iran tensions go next.
