In a blistering response at the White House today to an Iranian missile attack against Iraqi bases that house US troops, President Donald Trump alternated between using carrot and stick with Tehran: floating the possibility of military cooperation against the terror groups while pledging to step up sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

“As long as I am president of the United States, Iran will never have a nuclear weapon. Good morning,” Trump opened Wednesday’s remarks, more than 18 hours after the Pentagon said Iran launched 15 missiles at large Iraqi bases at Al-Asad and Erbil. “No Americans were harmed in last night’s attack by the Iranian regime.”

Trump said only minimal damage was sustained at the Erbil airport, which has taken on a role as a hub for defeat-IS (Islamic State) operations as the Pentagon thinned the number of American troops in Syria over the past three months, and Al-Asad, where the US president visited in December 2018 in his first overseas trip to see US forces in the field.

The commander-in-chief credited early warning systems with helping to stop the attack, though it’s not clear what defenses were used. Defense Secretary Mark Esper is set to brief members of Congress on the attack later this afternoon.