“Iran should write us a letter of thank you,” said Trump, during Wednesday night’s presidential debate. “Iran is taking over Iraq.”
Trump’s remarks came in response to a question regarding whether or not each candidate would support putting U.S. troops on the ground to stabilize Iraq after coalition forces retake the Iraqi city of Mosul. He went on to claim that Iran is going to be the “beneficiary” when coalition forces finally retake the city, which is Iraq’s second largest and serves as the Islamic State’s capital in Iraq.
Trump said that the U.S. and other members of Operation Inherent Resolve have telegraphed their intent to take Mosul for months.