The Latest: Donald Trump says he’s in ‘no hurry’ to strike Iran
The latest on The United States and Iran’s tensions over the shoot-down of a massive U.S. drone (all times local): 8:10 p.m. President Donald Trump says he abruptly called off the military strikes on Iran Thursday because the likely deaths of 150 Iranians would have been out of proportion to the shootdown of an unmanned American surveillance drone. He is also indicating he still hopes for talks with Iranian leaders rather than any escalation of military conflict. Trump says he is “in no hurry,” adding that increasingly severe sanctions meant to push Iran to the nuclear negotiating table are “biting” the Iranian economy. Iran, though, is showing no public inclination to negotiate. It is unclear whether Trump, who says the U.S. military had been “cocked and loaded” to hit Iran, is considering new military options. 4:15 p.m. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin says Iran’s financial sector will soon face penalties if it doesn’t work to stop evading international guidelines designed to combat money laundering. Mnuchin says Iran has not taken steps to comply with the guidelines. As a result, he says, branches and subsidiaries of financial institutions based in Iran will be subjected to increased oversight. Mnuchin spoke Friday in Orlando, Florida, at a meeting of the Financial Action Task Force. That is a global organization started in 1989 that works to stop money laundering, financing of militant networks and other threats to the integrity of the international financial system. The task force says Iran has until October to make progress toward compliance before additional counter-measures will be taken. 2 p.m. The U.N. says Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ message to the United States and Iran is to avoid anything that would escalate the current tense situation and “to have nerves of steel.” U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters at U.N. headquarters Friday that “the secretary-general firmly believes in the need for dialogue between the parties involved as probably the best way to defuse tension and to avoid any escalation.” Dujarric said the U.N. has been in contact with the parties at various levels and is passing the same message in public and it is in private, “which is to avoid any escalation.” Dujarric announced that Guterres will be attending the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan, next week but said he didn’t know yet if the secretary-general would meet there with U.S. President Donald Trump. Tensions have escalated dramatically since Iran downed a large U.S. drone which it said violated its airspace. The U.S. said the unmanned drone was in international airspace. 1:35 p.m. Diplomats say the United States has asked for a closed Security Council meeting on Monday on recent developments regarding Iran and the latest tanker incidents. Two well-informed diplomats confirmed the U.S. request on Friday and said the closed consultations are likely to take place on Monday afternoon. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. The request follows Iran’s downing of a large U.S. drone which it said violated its airspace. The U.S. said the unmanned drone was in international airspace. The United States launched a retaliatory strike Thursday night which President Donald Trump said he canceled 10 minutes before it was to take place because he learned there could be 150 deaths. The United States has also blamed Iran for using mines in the latest attacks on tankers in the Persian Gulf — which Tehran denies.—Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations. 1:20 p.m. President Donald Trump says he called off a planned retaliatory strike on Iran after deciding the likely death toll on the ground wouldn’t be “proportionate” to the shoot down of a U.S. drone. Trump tells NBC News in an interview Friday that he was informed that about 150 Iranians would be killed by the strikes. Trump says: “I didn’t like it. I didn’t think it was proportionate.” The president offered a similar explanation on Twitter earlier Friday. The president also says he never gave a final order for the operation, and that U.S. military airplanes were not yet in the air but that they would have been “pretty soon.” 1:10 p.m. U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says any “hostilities” with Iran “must not be initiated without the approval of Congress.” The California Democrat said in a statement Friday that “We are in an extremely dangerous and sensitive situation with Iran.” She spoke after President Donald Trump confirmed that he had ordered, then canceled, a retaliatory strike after Iran downed an unmanned American drone. A spokesman for Pelosi said the House speaker, second in line to the presidency, had not been notified of Trump’s plans. At the White House a day earlier, Democratic leaders had warned Trump that “hostilities must not be initiated without the approval of Congress,” according to Pelosi. She called for de-escalating the conflict and advancing American interests. 12:50 p.m. President Donald Trump has discussed escalating tensions between the U.S. and Iran with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The White House says the leaders spoke Friday, the day after Trump confirmed that he canceled a military strike against Iran on Thursday after Iran downed a U.S. drone that it says was operating over Iranian airspace. The U.S. says the drone had been flying over international waters when it was attacked. Saudi Arabia and Iran are regional enemies. Trump has been stepping up a “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran. Trump and bin Salman also discussed the kingdom’s role in ensuring stability in the Middle East and in the global oil market. Trump has blamed Iran for recent attacks on oil tankers moving through the strategic Strait of Hormuz. 12 p.m. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was not told of President Donald Trump’s aborted plan to strike back at Iran for shooting down a U.S. drone. A spokesman for Pelosi said Friday she was not given a heads-up about the military action. Pelosi is second in line to the presidency behind Vice President Mike Pence. Trump on Friday tweeted that the U.S. was “cocked and
