WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Thursday said comments he made that Iran could `take out` California cities had been misinterpreted and that he was instead referring to the need for people to tolerate higher gas prices.

Trump made the remarks at a political rally in Nebraska on Monday as he spoke about Americans` wartime economic sacrifices.

`Remember, with the war, it`s just artificial, it`s a little bit high, it`s a small price to pay,` he said then. `It`s a small price to pay for keeping the world safe, for keeping our country safe.

They could take out a city. Let `em take out Los Angeles, let `em take outSan Diego. This is a very small price to pay, and it`s going to be over with very soon.` California`s Democratic leaders and some fellow Republicans quickly rebuked the remarks.

`What I was talking about was that a temporaryincrease in the price of Gasoline is a small price to pay for Iran not having a Nuclear Weapon,` Trump said in a Truth Social post on Thursday.

`If you want to see a big price, can you imagine what it would be like if they bombed San Diego and/or Los Angeles?` he continued, saying he loved both cities.

Trump has shrugged off cost-of-living concerns stemming from the Iran conflict before.-Reuters