US President Donald Trump has made a statement regarding the killing of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani, CNBC reports.

He stated that the US does not seek “regime change” in Iran.

But the US is “ready and prepared to take whatever action is necessary” if Iran threatens American lives, Trump added.

“We took action last night to stop a war,” the president said in his first television address since Soleimani’s death was announced Thursday night. “We did not take action to start a war.”

Soleimani “made the death of innocent people his sick passion,” Trump said from his Palm Beach, Florida, resort, Mar-a-Lago. “We caught him in the act and terminated him.”

Trump announced that the United States has the world's best armed forces and intelligence services. He stressed that he had deep respect for the Iranian people.