Trump denies reports of "infighting" on Iran policy

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday dismissed reports of "infighting" within the administration on U.S. Iran policy.

US President Donald Trump speaks during White House Historical Association Dinner in the East Room of the White House on May 15, 2019, in Washington, DC. [Photo: AFP/Brendan Smialowski]

Via tweets, Trump said, "The Fake News Washington Post, and even more Fake News New York Times, are writing stories that there is infighting with respect to my strong policy in the Middle East."

"There is no infighting whatsoever," he said. "Different opinions are expressed and I make a decisive and final decision - it is a very simple process."

Trump added that "I'm sure that Iran will want to talk soon."

U.S. media have frequently reported the policy wrangle between U.S. hawkish officials, such as National Security Adviser John Bolton, and others within the Trump administration regarding the approach to deal with the rising tensions with Iran.

The New York Times reported on Monday that acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan had presented to the Trump administration's senior security officials an updated military plan, which envisions sending up to 120,000 troops to the Middle East, should Iran attack American forces or speed up work on nuclear weapons.

Trump on Tuesday dismissed the report. However, he noted that "hopefully we're not going to have to plan for that. And if we did that, we'd send a hell of a lot more troops than that."

Over the recent weeks, Washington has ratcheted up pressure against Tehran with a series of sanctions, designations and military threats, following Washington's year-long campaign against Iran after U.S. exit from the landmark Iran nuclear deal in May last year.

In response, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani announced recently Tehran's withdrawal from complying with the restrictions of the Iran nuclear deal on the country's enriched uranium reserves and heavy water supplies.