Trump Confronted About Top Amb Saying ‘Absolutely’ Iran Strikes Possible This Weekend

President Donald Trump was asked on Friday about US Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack telling a podcaster that there “absolutely” could be a US strike on Iran this weekend.

Barrack, a top GOP donor who also serves as the US special envoy to Syria and Iraq, made the remarks to podcaster Mario Nawfal, who is based in Dubai.

“Could there be a strike this weekend? Absolutely,” Barrack said, adding, “The president is very clear. He’s open and available and accessible to a deal. And we’ve been at the table for months and months and months.”

After landing in Florida, a reporter asked Trump, “Your ambassador to Turkey, sir, just said in an interview that ‘absolutely,’ quote-unquote, there could be a strike on Iran this weekend. Have you gone back on holding off—”

Trump jumped in, “That was my ambassador to Turkey?”

“He’s a pretty powerful man, I guess,” Trump said, turning to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) with a smile.

“Well, if that’s the case, I don’t know anything about it. Thank you very much, everybody,” Trump concluded.

Barrack also reiterated Trump’s longstanding threat of further action against Iran if a deal is not reached to end the country’s nuclear program and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

“The consequence won’t be regime change,” Barrack adds. “The United States, the president of the United States has said he’s not interested in regime change. He’s interested in rebalancing so that there’s no hostages, there’s no threats, and the world can calm down and ensure what’s there. The problem with regime change always is — what’s the day two scenario?”

The New York Times recently reported that the Trump administration is eyeing further military action against Iran for after the midterms.

“The targets would likely include Iran’s energy infrastructure, nuclear facilities, and missile and drone arsenal. Some officials say one more big round of attacks could push Iran’s economy over the brink and force the country to make diplomatic concessions after nearly eight months of conflict,” reported the Times this week.

Watch the clip above via CNN.

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