Despite the recent US military buildup in the Middle East, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo claimed during an interview with CNBC that the US is not aiming for war with Iran.
The US has deployed Patriot missile batteries and B-52 bombers to the Middle East, the latter of which landed in Qatar, and expanded its naval presence in the Persian Gulf with an air craft carrier and additional warships.
The military build-up was in response to unspecified Iranian threats on American targets in the region.
When Pompeo was asked during the Saturday interview if he feared that a miscalculation in the build-up could lead to war, he responded to CNBC, "We're not going to miscalculate. Our aim is not war. Our aim is a change in the behavior of the Iranian leadership."
Pompeo also said that US President Donald Trump wanted to make sure that if something happened, the US would be prepared to respond.
He asserted that the US would be happy to hold discussions with Iran to ensure that the country has no way to obtain a nuclear weapon, something he said would have happened if the US had remained in the JCPOA nuclear deal.