US president Donald Trump seemed uncharacteristically reluctant to talk when The Independent asked him what he would do if the missing American officer were captured or harmed by Iranians. “Well, I can’t comment on it, because...” he said, “we hope that’s not going to happen.”
His reticence might be explained by memories of the Iranian hostage crisis 47 years ago, when a young Mr Trump criticised Jimmy Carter for failing to rescue American diplomats taken hostage during the Islamic Revolution.
