Article snippet: WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Friday the U.S. was ‘‘cocked and loaded’’ to retaliate against Iran for downing an unmanned American surveillance drone, but he canceled the strikes 10 minutes before they were to be launched after being told 150 people could die. Trump’s tweeted statement was the latest indication that he does not want to escalate the U.S. clash with Tehran. But he didn’t rule out future strikes and insisted anew that the U.S. would never allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon. He said U.S. economic sanctions are crippling the Iranian economy and more are being added. After days of harsh words against the United States, Iran also seemed to be tamping down its rhetoric. Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the head of the Revolutionary Guard’s aerospace division, told reporters on Friday that a U.S. spy plane with around 35 crew members was flying close to the unmanned U.S. Navy RQ-4A Global Hawk that was shot down, but that Iran chose not to target the manned aircraft. Separately, he told Iranian state TV that Iran warned the drone several times before downing it with a missile. Late Thursday, the Federal Aviation Administration barred American-registered aircraft from flying over parts of the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, and several major airlines from around the world on Friday began rerouting their flights , including British Airways, Australia’s Qantas, Germany’s Lufthansa and the Dutch carrier KLM. In a lengthy tweet, Trump defended his... Link to the full article to read more