Trump says US has targets ready if strikes on Iran resume
Trump said he has three aircraft carriers in the region and could destroy 38 bridges in Iran within an hour, but would prefer not to.
The administration has identified targets inside Iran for possible strikes if hostilities resume, but does not want to carry them out, US President Donald Trump said on Sunday, Russia's state news agency TASS reported.
Trump told CNN that Washington is ready to resume strikes against Iran if necessary, adding that he has three aircraft carriers in the Middle East and that a third had just arrived.
"They're fully locked and loaded," he said.
Trump said the targets include 38 bridges that the US could knock down in about an hour.
"They'll all be down," he said, but added that he would prefer not to damage Iranian infrastructure.
He said rebuilding the bridges would take 10 years and that he does not like destroying them.
"The hardest thing to build is a bridge," Trump said, describing himself as a good builder.
The remarks signal that Washington is weighing renewed military action against Iran, while Trump stressed that he would rather avoid it.
Tensions between the United States and Iran have remained high, with Tehran repeatedly warning of a strong response if the US attacks, and both sides have traded threats in recent days.
Any renewed strikes would be closely watched across the Middle East, where the US has a significant military presence.
