President Donald Trump said that the deaths of U.S. troops in the war with Iran were “a shame” but portrayed it as a necessary sacrifice to prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
Trump said the two soldiers killed in Jordan on Friday gave their lives for a greater cause, speaking with the New York Post.
“They did it because they don’t want to see Iran have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said of the dead. “And it just shows you how bad [the Iranians] are,” he added.
The president also said he would be contacting the parents of the killed soldiers.
“Of course I will. I always do. Yeah,” he answered when asked.
Trump carried out retaliatory strikes on Saturday after the soldiers’ deaths, hitting Iran for the eighth consecutive night. The strikes targeted military and radar capabilities and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps units that launched the deadly attack against Jordan.
The two U.S. soldiers killed in the attack were the eighth and ninth killed by direct Iranian fire in Operation Epic Fury and the first deaths since the opening days of the war.
Several congressional Democrats took the opportunity to pin the blame for the deaths on Trump, a sentiment he rejected as hypocritical.
US STRIKES IRGC FORCES BEHIND ATTACK THAT KILLED US TROOPS IN JORDAN
“Have you ever asked how many people died in Vietnam? Have you ever asked how many people died in Afghanistan in one day? In one day — run by Sleepy Joe Biden,” Trump said.
“This is two wars we’re talking about: Venezuela and this. And it’s a shame, but in this case, they died because they don’t want to see Iran have a nuclear weapon and they don’t want to see the Middle East blown up,” he added.
