Washington sources reported that US President Donald Trump has said he is not seeking war with iran, as he dispatched two top officials to the Middle East amid heightened tensions. Trump said on Sunday on NBC's Meet the Press program that "I'm not looking for war”. Furthermore the downing of a US surveillance drone on Thursday by iran's elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (RGC) had brought the two foes to the brink of war.
Earlier Trump had said that he called off a military attack to retaliate for the downing of the unmanned aircraft out of concern it would have been a disproportionate response. Apparently Trump has indicated that he would also be prepared to seek a deal to bolster iran's flagging economy, an apparent move to defuse tensions. Trump said "I think they want to negotiate. And I think they want to make a deal. And my deal is nuclear. Look, they're not going to have a nuclear weapon".