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White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt defended President Donald Trump's "very serious" threat that a "whole civilisation will die," and insisted he maintains the "moral high ground" in the conflict with Iran.

Speaking at the White House briefing Wednesday (April 8), Leavitt defended the president's words as a “very strong threat that led to results.”

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00:00Fair enough, so regarding the president's rhetoric, yesterday the
00:08president threatened to destroy Iran's civilization, the entire civilization,
00:13not the Iranian government, but the Iranian civilization, the Iranian people.
00:19The U.S. has been a moral leader for most of its history by fighting wars
00:24against other governments, not against civilizations. How can the president claim
00:32that America can ever have the moral high ground if he's threatening to destroy
00:36civilizations and not casting wars as fights against other governments?
00:42Andrew, I think you should take a look at the actions of this president over the
00:45course of the past six weeks and the actions of our brave men and women in
00:49our United States military who have taken out the military, essentially taken out
00:53the military, of a rogue Islamic regime that has chanted death to America for 47
00:59years, that has killed and maimed thousands of American soldiers over the
01:03course of the last five decades. The president absolutely has the moral high
01:08ground over the Iranian terrorist regime and for you to even suggest otherwise is
01:12frankly insulting.
01:13With all due respect, Caroline, with all due respect, there is...
01:18Caroline, I'm just given the gravity of what he said yesterday, what was your
01:23understanding of what he meant when he said this civilization is going to be eliminated?
01:29I think it was a very, very strong threat from the president of the United States that led
01:34the Iranian regime to cave to their knees and ask for a ceasefire and agree to
01:38reopening the Strait of Hormuz. So it was a very strong threat that led to results. And as the
01:43Secretary of War stated at the Pentagon this morning, it was not an empty threat by any means.
01:49The Pentagon had a target list that they were ready to hit go on at 8 p.m. last night,
01:55if the Iranian regime had not agreed to open the Strait, which they did. And I think that's something we
01:59should all be grateful for.
02:00Do you see the United States as a moral leader in the world, given that he's...
02:03I was asked this exact same question by your colleague Andrew in the back. And I think, again,
02:07the insinuation by anyone in this room that Iran somehow has the moral high ground over the United States of
02:13America is insulting,
02:14considering the atrocities that they have committed against our people and our military over the past five decades.
02:23John.
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