Trump denies Israel pressured US to strike Iran: ‘I might have forced Israel’s hand’

The president portrayed the military campaign as effective, saying “virtually everything they have is being knocked out now.”

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the United States was not drawn into war with Iran by Israeli pressure, asserting instead that he believed Tehran was preparing to strike and that Washington acted to preempt it.

Speaking to reporters, Trump rejected the suggestion that Israel had “forced” his hand. “I might have forced their hand,” he said, later adding, “If anything, I might have forced Israel’s hand, but Israel was ready and we were ready.”

Trump said his assessment was shaped by ongoing negotiations with Iran before the conflict escalated.

“We were having negotiations with these lunatics,” he said, referring to Iran’s leadership. “It was my opinion that they were going to attack first. If we didn’t do it, they were going to attack.”

He said he felt “strongly” that an Iranian assault was imminent “based on the way the negotiation was going,” and later clarified that he believed Israel and other Middle Eastern nations were potential targets.

The president portrayed the military campaign as effective, saying “virtually everything they have is being knocked out now.” He also accused Iran of expanding its attacks beyond primary adversaries.

“Hitting countries that were neutral … and now those countries are all fighting against them,” Trump said. He further alleged that Iran was “also hitting only civilian places, hotels and apartment buildings.”

Such conduct, he said, “shows the level of evil that we’re dealing with,” arguing that Tehran had struck states that had been at least somewhat friendly.

Asked what scenario concerned him most, Trump said the “worst-case scenario” would be if Iran’s next leader were no better than Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

His remarks come as fighting between US and Israeli forces and Iran continues, with the administration defending its decision to engage and maintaining that it acted out of security concerns rather than outside pressure.