Trump almost went to 'full-fledged war' with Iran but 'thought better of it': senator

The U.S. is conducting strikes on Iranian military targets in Iraq and Syria in retaliation for the Iranian drone attack that killed three American servicemembers, as tensions continue to mount across the Middle East.

But this is far from the only recent time at which a heavier conflict with Iran was a looming threat, Senate Intelligence Chairman Mark Warner (D-VA) told CNN's Alex Marquardt on Friday. In fact, when former President Donald Trump was in office, he considered a direct attack on Iran itself, he said.

"Senator Warner, thank you so much for coming in," said Marquardrt. "We just spoke with your colleague from Alaska, Senator Dan Sullivan, who said that the U.S. needs to be much more forceful, that the Biden administration needs to take further steps against Iran directly. And he talked specifically about sinking Iranian ships in the Red Sea. What do you make of those sort of more hawkish comments we've heard?"

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"First of all, this is a beginning of a process," said Warner. "There are seven sites here, 85 separate locations. And the president's indicated that there will be more to come. And let's see the damage."

It's also important to remember, Warner said, that "there are Iranian forces not only inside Iran but around the region."

"I do like to remind my colleagues that I remember a meeting with President Trump where he indicated at that point that he was going to strike Iran itself," said Warner. However, "He thought better of it and decided a time and place where he could affect the most damage without breaking into full-fledged war with Iran. And it was literally six months later before he took out General Soleimani, a bad guy, head of the Iranian Quds Force."

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