U.S. House Speaker Pelosi says she is glad Trump called off Iran strikes

[June 22, 2019]    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. House of Representatives' Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Friday she was glad that President Donald Trump called off planned military strikes on Iranian targets, saying the collateral damage would have been "very provocative."

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) declines questions from journalists about Iran after signing the Taxpayer First Act on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., June 21, 2019. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas

"A strike of that amount of collateral damage would be very provocative, and I'm glad the president did not take that," Pelosi told reporters, reiterating her demand that Trump seek congressional authorization before any military action against Tehran.

"We think there are many options that are not what they call 'kinetic' ... that might be more useful," she said.

(Reporting by Tim Ahmann; Editing by Susan Heavey)

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