Trump floats ‘good reason’ to send US troops to Iran: Live updates

President Trump says he may ‘possibly’ deploy US troops on the ground into Iran, but there would need to be a ‘very good reason.’

Asked on Air Force One about reports that he is ‘seriously considering’ sending US soldiers into Iran, Trump initially brushed off the question, saying he didn’t think it was ‘appropriate.’

‘I don’t even want to talk about it now,’ he said.

‘You know, I’m not going to answer it. Could there be? Possibly, for very good reason, have to be very good reason.

‘I would say if we ever did that they would be so decimated that they wouldn’t be able to fight at the ground level.’

Trump’s admission that he may end up deploying US ground troops comes after the White House denied an NBC News report on Friday night claiming that he was ‘seriously considering’ making the move.

Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt slammed the report, alleging it was ‘based on assumptions from anonymous sources who are not part of the President’s national security team and are clearly not read into these discussions.’

‘President Trump always, wisely keeps all options open, but anyone trying to insinuate he is in favor of one option or another proves they have no real seat at the table,’ Leavitt said at the time.

A huge fireball erupted over Tehran on Saturday night after Israel struck an oil refinery, causing a catastrophic explosion.

Images from the capital showed the oil refinery up in flames, as black smoke filled the skies over the city.

The refinery that was struck was among several targets hit on Saturday evening, located near to the Mehrabad Airport which was also hit on Friday.

President Trump’s options for deploying troops on the ground in Iran include sending Special Operations units to seize and destroy key nuclear sites, military sources told Semafor.

Trump said Saturday that he was ‘possibly’ looking to send soldiers on the ground, but said he would need a ‘really good reason’ to make the move.

According to military experts and insiders familiar with the options on the table, Trump may consider a ‘counter-WMD mission’, which would see Delta Force infiltrate and destroy material that could be used in a nuclear weapon.

Trump previously declared that he ‘obliterated’ Iran’s nuclear facilities in a strike last June, but some sites are still believed by analysts to be safely holding enriched uranium – the main ingredient in a nuke.

Saudi Arabia’s defense ministry said it intercepted over 30 drones in the early hours of Sunday morning.

The ministry said many of the drones were targeting the capital Riyadh, including one aimed at the Diplomatic Quarter, where a number of foreign embassies are located.

The interceptions caused no damage or injuries, officials said.

The ministry did not identify the source of the attacks, with the drone aimed at the embassy district coming as US embassies in Oslo and Baghdad were attacked.

Rocket attacks have been launched at the US Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq.

Iraqi officials blamed ‘rogue groups’ for the attack in the Iraqi capital on Saturday evening.

Footage showed a US Army C-RAM interceptor shooting down the rocket fire, sending a stunning red laser across the skies as it took down the munitions.

A security source told AFP that four rockets were launched toward the embassy, and three were intercepted while one fell in an open area in the embassy’s airbase.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani indicated the attack was launched by a rebel group, saying that he ordered his security forces to find the perpetrators of the ‘terrorist act of launching projectiles toward the US embassy.’

‘The perpetrators of these attacks are committing an offence against Iraq, its sovereignty, and its security. These rogue groups that operate outside the framework of the law in no way represent the will of the Iraqi people,’ the Prime Minister said

At 1am local time in Norway, a large explosion was also reported outside the US Embassy in Oslo, resulting in ‘minor injuries.’

A large explosion was reported outside the US Embassy in Oslo, Norway.

A large police presence was seen descending on the embassy at around 1am Sunday local time.

The explosion caused ‘minor injuries’ and damage to the consular entrance of the embassy, Oslo Police Chief Michael Dellemyr told NKR

The source of the explosion or who was responsible is unclear, police said.

Smoke ​was ⁠seen rising from the area around the ​embassy compound, eyewitnesses told ​Norwegian ⁠outlet Verdens Gang.

The incident unfolded shortly after the US Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq was also attacked with rockets, as the US-Israeli campaign against Iran continues to escalate.

An Israeli airstrike on a hotel in Beirut on Saturday night killed at least four people and injured 10 others, Lebanon’s health ministry said.

The strike hit the center of Beirut, marking an escalation of Israel’s targeting of the country as previous strikes have focused on the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs.

The Israeli Defense Force said in a statement the attack was a ‘precise strike’ on key commanders in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’s Quds Force’s Lebanon Corps.

‘Prior to the strike, steps were taken to mitigate harm to civilians, including the use of precise munition and aerial surveillance,’ the statement said.

Nations across the Persian Gulf reported new airstrikes and interceptions in their airspace in the early hours of Sunday morning (local time).

Kuwait said it sustained a ‘wave of hostile drones’ striking fuel storage sites at the Kuwait International Airport.

Further strikes on Kuwait also saw a high-rise building set ablaze by a strike. It is unclear if the strike caused injuries or deaths.

A number of drone attacks were also reported by Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Defense, which said it intercepted at least 21 drones.

Iran also launched airstrikes at Bahrain in Sunday morning, with officials saying a fire at the Mina Salman seaport was caused by ‘Iranian aggression.’

The latest wave of strikes from Iran come after Israel began a ‘new phase’ of the war by destroying oil refineries and fuel depots across Tehran, which caused huge explosions across the capital on Saturday night.

Ali Larijani, the Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council and the nation’s de facto leader, said in an address to state media that the nation would not cede to Donald Trump’s demands for surrender.

Larijani warned that the United States ‘must pay the price’ for killing late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, in a furious speech on Saturday night.

‘Americans must know that we will not let them go,’ Larijani said.

Larijani said Iran was determined to avenge the death of Khamenei, who was killed in an airstrike last Saturday on the first day of the US-Israel campaign in Iran.

‘When the enemy attacks us from military bases in the region, we will respond, this is our right and our policy,’ he added.

‘We don’t want the region to be destabilized but the essence of this war will destabilize the region.’

President Trump said Saturday that the United States does not want the help of Iranian Kurdish groups in its war with Iran.

‘We’re not looking to the Kurds going in. We’re very friendly with the Kurds, as you know, but we don’t want to make the war anymore complex than it already is,’ Trump told reporters on Air Force One.

‘Yeah, I have ruled it out. I don’t want the Kurds going in… They’re willing to go in, but I’ve told them, I don’t want them to go in,’ Trump said.

‘The war’s complicated enough without getting the Kurds involved.’

Trump’s comments come after CNN reported this week that the CIA was arming Kurdish forces in hopes of stoking an uprising in Iran.

Israel has begun striking oil storage sites across Iran as they look to the next phase of the conflict in the Middle East, an Israeli military source told CNN.

On Saturday, the Israeli military has struck several fuel sites in Tehran, and footage showed an oil refinery set ablaze and smoke rising across the capital.

The IDF said in a statement that the strikes on Saturday targeted an oil refinery that distributes fuel ‘to various consumers, including military entities in Iran.’

‘This is a significant strike that constitutes an additional step in deepening the damage to the military infrastructure of the Iranian terrorist regime,’ the statement said.

President Trump blamed Iran for a strike on the first day of the conflict that struck an elementary school in the Iranian city of Minab, which killed 168 children and 14 teachers.

Speaking on Air Force One on Saturday, Trump told reporters: ‘Based on what I’ve seen, that was done by Iran.’

Varying reports had accused Israel, the IRGC or US forces of firing the strike on the school, which was located near to a military base.

Trump said Saturday that it was a misfire from Iran, and he described Iranian munitions as ‘very inaccurate.’