The President of the United States of America Donald Trump on September 18, 2019, has said that he has “many options” in addition to military action against Iran and the details of the newly announced sanctions will come within 48 hours. 

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There are many options

On being questioned by reporters about a possible US strike on Iran, the US President said, “there are many options. There’s the ultimate option, and there are options a lot less than that.” Trump explained that by "ultimate option" he meant "war." He said that the specifics of sanctions he announced earlier would be made public "over the next 48 hours.”

US ally Saudi Arabia says Iran was behind a missile or drone attack that set major oil facilities ablaze last weekend. Trump has so far appeared to resist calls from some in his Republican party for more a more aggressive response. "There's plenty of time to do some dastardly things," he said. "If we have to do something we'll do it without hesitation." Trump also referenced his frequent message that he wants to keep the United States out of conflicts in the Middle East. "How did that work out?" he asked, referring to Iraq and other conflicts. 

Read | Donald Trump Suggests Iran May Have Hit Saudi Arabian Oil Facilities

US officials have indicated they clearly believe Saudi blame placed on Iran

Although US officials have indicated they clearly believe the Saudi blame placed on Iran, despite Tehran's denial, Trump has yet to state this fully in public. "We're really at a point now where we know very much what happened," he said, without giving more detail. Trump had reportedly been hoping for a dramatic encounter with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani at next week's UN General Assembly in New York. 

The crisis over the Saudi oil facilities attack appears to have made that meeting highly unlikely. On Wednesday, Iranian state media reported that Rouhani and his delegation were having trouble obtaining US visas. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declined to comment specifically on the case, but suggested that the Iranians should be denied because of what he said was the country's "terrorism.”

Trump has, however, said "if it was up to me I'd let them come.”

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(With Inputs from Agencies)