President Donald Trump on Wednesday again invoked the possibility of missiles striking Los Angeles and San Diego, but said his administration would prevent such an attack, appearing to clarify remarks that sparked backlash just two days earlier.

Speaking at a rally in San Antonio, Trump warned that an attack on the California cities could send the country into “free fall” as he defended the U.S. war with Iran and argued that the military operation was necessary to protect Americans from a nuclear-armed Tehran.

“You want to see trauma? You want to see problems? Let them hit a missile into San Diego or Los Angeles on the way. Let them hit,” Trump said.

“You want to see a horror show?” he continued. “Let them hit San Diego, let them hit Los Angeles.”

Trump then emphasized that his administration would not allow such an attack to happen.

“You want to see a country that would be in free fall?” Trump said. “We’re not going to let that happen. We protect our cities. We protect our country.”

The remarks came two days after Trump drew criticism for suggesting during a rally in Nebraska that Iran could strike the two California cities, comments he made while defending the economic costs of the U.S. war with Iran.

In response to the remarks, Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., accused Trump of encouraging Iran to attack California and called Trump “deranged and dangerous.”

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass told MS NOW’s Peter Alexander that the president’s comments were “irresponsible.”

“You don’t say something like that in jest,” Bass said. “You are the president of the United States, and your number one job is to protect and defend the American people, not to invite a foreign power to attack a city.”

The White House subsequently pushed back on criticism of his Monday remarks, arguing that Trump was warning about the threat posed by a nuclear-armed Iran rather than advocating for attacks on American cities.

Trump also defended the military operation Wednesday, saying that confronting Iran was necessary to prevent the country from obtaining nuclear weapons.

“Just as I promised, I am ensuring that Iran will never have a nuclear weapon. Never,” Trump said.

The president suggested U.S. military involvement in Iran would end soon, though he offered no specific timeline, and predicted that oil prices would decline sharply once the operation ends.

Americans continue to feel the pain at the pump as the war drives up energy costs. The national average for a gallon of regular gasoline stood at $4.37 Wednesday, according to AAA, up from $3.12 a year ago.

“We’ll be out of there soon,” Trump said Wednesday night. “And you watch those oil prices come down like a rock.”

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