More than likely President Donald Trump backed off striking missile installations in Iran due to the annual G20 Summit  held in Osaka, Japan on June 28-29. The radical Islamic country of Iran shot down an unmanned, unarmed surveillance drone claiming it was flying in Iranian airspace which is in dispute with U.S. military claims that the drone was flying close to Iran but over international waters at the time it was blown up by a surface-to-air missile fired from the coast of Iran on the Gulf of Oman.

Iran has close long-standing ties to Russia and China by supplying both countries a large portion of their energy needs at a time that Iran is facing a collapsing economy due to economic sanctions placed upon Iran by the United States. According to news reports, President Trump met with congressional leaders at the White House and then ordered air strikes targeting Iran’s missile and radar defense systems, but then called off the strikes much to the surprise of everyone involved. So what happened for this president to change his mind by ordering the military to “stand down?”

President Trump is scheduled to meet privately with both leaders of Russia and China. Taking aggressive defensive actions against Iran at this time would muddy the waters of any progressive talks between the USA, China and Russia at a time these countries should be seeking ways to build peace instead of engaging in war.

Shooting down this drone did not cost any lives, however the drone with a wingspan comparable to a 737 commercial jetliner was an important piece of military equipment valued at about $130-million. Its loss cannot be overlooked but it’s not a good enough reason to start a messy fight with radical Iran, at least not now — with the gathering of leaders from around the world. There’s plenty of time to deal with Iran now that the G20 Summit has ended.

News reports say President Trump sent word to Iranian leaders to seek open negotiations with Iran – a country that continues its quest to be a nuclear power, something President Trump pledges will not occur. This is clearly a delaying tactic on the part of President Trump by his calling off the planned military strikes seeking to open talks with Iran instead of bombing their facilities – a move which surely would cause deaths to Iranian military personnel and civilians which would further escalate tensions between the USA, Iran, China and Russia.

In short, leaders must pick their battles closely. Some are worth fighting while others are not. And this incident with Iran is just another blip on the radar screen. Sooner or later the tyranny of Iran will be dealt with either by Iranian citizens through a coup to remove this criminal government or by acts of war against Iran by the USA and its NATO allies. But that time is not now.

President Trump — by delaying military strikes against Iran — does not come across as weak or indecisive but rather a seasoned negotiator that sees the difference between a real conflict and smoke and mirrors.

This most recent incident with Iran is not the first time this rogue country has attempted to disrupt shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz – a valuable route for oil tankers taking energy supplies to many foreign countries. Just before the drone was shot down — the Iranian military attempted to sink two oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran’s current leadership still chants “death to America” and “death to Israel.” Don’t be surprised to see Israel step up to the plate and take out Iran’s leadership once and for all freeing the Iranian people of this oppressive regime before they take out the Jewish State of Israel.

About the Author Britt Nelson relocated to Costa Rica in 2011 from Florida, where he served as news editor for the Palatka Daily News, a newspaper owned by the New York Times Regional Newspaper Group (NYT-RNG) for 20 years.

Nelson served the NYT-RNG for 18 years in Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina and Florida as a correspondent, reporter, staff writer, senior staff writer training new reporters, copy editor, page designer, editorial writer, editorial page editor and editorial board member.