US President Donald Trump warns Iran as Democrats plan war votes

US President Donald Trump raised the prospect of further military action against Iran on Thursday local time even as senior House Democrats outlined plans to force votes to end the war and demand answers about its objectives and costsldquoI would rather not destroy the rest of the country if possible but maybe Ill have to Youll know soon enoughrdquo Trump told reporters at the White House He gave no timetable or targets for further action and did not announce that new strikes had been orderedThe warning came as Democrats prepared their foreignpolicy agenda for the next Congress with Representative Gregory Meeks promising resolutions to terminate the conflict and Democratic Whip Katherine Clark questioning its goals and exit strategyTheir statements preceded Trumprsquos latest remarks They set out the congressional opposition confronting his Iran policy rather than responses to Thursday afternoonrsquos warningSpeaking during an Oval Office event Trump defended the military campaign and said a decision would be made on whether to go further He also reiterated his position that Iran must not acquire a nuclear weapon Asked about reports of proposals concerning Tehranrsquos nuclear programme he said ldquoTheyre not doing anything without our approvalrdquoTrump did not confirm the substance of any proposal or describe an agreed negotiating framework His remarks left both the scope of potential military action and the diplomatic route unspecified Meeks the senior Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee set out his plans in a November 4 letter seeking colleaguesrsquo support to become its chairmanldquoOn the legislative front I intend to bring resolutions to the floor to immediately terminate the Presidentrsquos war with Iran and will prioritize clawing back Congressrsquos proper role in the making of American foreign policyrdquo he wrote The letter also proposed demanding public testimony from senior administration officials about the Iran war Venezuela and disputes over congressional authority on military action and tradeMeeks was describing an intended legislative and oversight agenda The letter did not establish a date for a vote or identify a newly introduced resolution implementing that pledge Earlier Clark told CNN that Democrats would press the administration about continued funding for the conflict and how it intended to bring American troops home safelyHer office circulated excerpts of the interview before Trumprsquos afternoon remarks Clark accused the president of taking the country into ldquoa reckless war that had no exit strategy had no clear goalsrdquo and blamed the conflict for increasing pressure on household fuel costsShe said Democrats would seek discussions about the administrationrsquos objectives and how to end the war while protecting Americans and US troopsThe two Democrats emphasised different avenues for challenging the administration Meeks proposed floor resolutions and testimony while Clark focused on funding public costs and an exit strategy Neither statement amounted to a new restriction already imposed on the presidentThe Gulf conflict also concerns major Asian energy importers including India The International Energy Agency identifies the Strait of Hormuz as a critical oil transit route and lists India China and Japan among the principal destinations for oil leaving the waterwayThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever