US President Donald Trump urged Iran Friday to make a deal or face "even more brutal" attacks by Israel, as Washington said it was helping its key ally defend itself against Iranian retaliation.

But Trump also kept the door open for negotiations on Tehran's nuclear program, as the president who boasted he had "no wars" in his first term tries to avoid getting dragged into one in his second.

Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke on Friday, a White House official told AFP. He said earlier that Israel had let him know in advance about its strikes on Iran's military top brass and nuclear facilities.

After Iran launched barrages of ballistic missiles on Friday, the United States was "assisting in shooting down missiles targeting Israel," two US officials told AFP, without giving detail on the extent of Washington's role.

The US president also spoke to French President Emmanuel Macron........

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