Beirut explosion: Lebanese officials raise concern with US after Trump's 'attack' claim

Lebanese officials have raised concerns with US diplomats over President Donald Trump describing the explosion an “attack” at a news conference on August 4. Trump offered his “deepest sympathies” and assistance to the people of Lebanon affected by the explosion, which he called a “terrible attack”.

"It looks like a terrible attack...It would seem like it, based on the explosion. I met with some of our great generals and they just seemed to feel that it was,” Trump told reporters at the White House.

Trump said that it was not a manufacturing explosion “type of event”, saying the US generals seem to think it was an attack. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that the Lebanese government is investigating the cause of the explosion and the United States looks forward to the outcome of those efforts.

“Our team in Beirut has reported to me the extensive damage to a city and a people that I hold dear, an additional challenge in a time of already deep crisis,” said Pompeo in a statement.

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Lebanon PM on the explosion

Later, Lebanon's Prime Minister Hassan Diab said in a statement that 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate, a highly explosive material used in agricultural fertilizers and bombs, had been stored for years in a Beirut portside warehouse without safety measures. He called for an investigation into the disastrous incident, with the results released within five days.

"What happened today will not pass without accountability. Those responsible for this catastrophe will pay the price," he said.

Lebanese President Michel Aoun has called for a two-week-long state of emergency in Beirut as the death toll keeps climbing after the huge explosion sent shock waves over the national capital. Condolences and offers of assistance have poured in from all over the world as the explosion have claimed over 100 lives and left thousands injured.

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