Trump threatens Iran after embassy attack but remains reluctant to get more involved in region

Trump has long viewed U.S. involvement in the Middle East as a political loser that leads only to the loss of money and lives, according to a Trump adviser who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the president’s views.

“I can tell you 100 percent that the president has no desire to get into some kind of new conflict in the Middle East during 2020,” the person said.

Speaking to reporters at Mar-a-Lago shortly before New Year’s Eve festivities there, Trump backed off his aggressive tone against Iran that he had leveled on Twitter earlier Tuesday.

“Do I want to? No,” he said when asked whether he would go to war against Iran. “I like peace. And Iran should want peace more than anybody. So I don’t see that happening.”