Trump vows Iran campaign will continue after US troops killed in Jordan attack

US President Donald Trumprsquos administration said that its military campaign against Iran would continue after two American service members were killed and another went missing in an Iranian attack on a US base in JordanUS forces responded with another round of airstrikes on Iran The deaths were the first involving American troops since a USIran agreement collapsed weeks ago Four other service members were injured but have since left hospitalEnergy Secretary Chris Wright said the deaths would not change the administrationrsquos mission ldquoYes this mission will go on until the mission is donerdquo Wright told ABC Newsrsquo ldquoThis WeekrdquoldquoItrsquos tragic to lose American lives but this is a mission that will save countless lives going forwardrdquo he said ldquoHis focus is on degrading the Iranian ability to terrorise the world to hold world commerce hostage as they are doing right now and to prevent Iran from getting nuclear weapons That is unchangedrdquoWright said Trump continued to seek a diplomatic exit But he said US operations would continue if Tehran remained unwilling to reach an agreement ldquoPresident Trump wants to end it with a peaceful agreement with Iran but it takes two parties to do thatrdquo he saidDemocratic Senator Mark Warner vicechairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee sharply challenged the administrationrsquos approach He said there had been no imminent Iranian threat when Trump began the conflict ldquoThis is what happens when you start a war of choicerdquo Warner told CBS Newsrsquo ldquoFace the Nationrdquo ldquoYou start a war of choice without a planrdquoWarner said the campaign had failed to eliminate Iranrsquos missile and drone capabilities or secure the Strait of Hormuz He also questioned the cost of using expensive US missiles against cheaper Iranian drones ldquoWersquore using missiles that cost 25 million to shoot down Iranian drones that cost 50000rdquo he saidWright disputed suggestions that traffic through the Strait had stopped He said nearly seven million barrels a day were passing through the waterway while a similar volume moved through bypass pipelines ldquoWersquore at a little under 14 million barrels a day from the Arabian Gulf regionrdquo he said ldquoThatrsquos twothirds of preconflict trafficrdquoRetired Admiral James Stavridis a former NATO supreme allied commander said Trump faced three difficult choices withdraw sharply expand military operations or increase pressure while keeping negotiations open ldquoSome have called this and I think itrsquos accurate escalate to deescalate to force them back to the tablerdquo Stavridis told CNNThis 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