Trump says ‘if anything,’ he forced Israel’s hand on Iran strikes

President Trump on Tuesday said he “might” have forced Israel’s hand to strike Iran first, saying his opinion was that the Islamic Republic was going to launch a military strike first.

“It was my opinion that they were going to attack first,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday, sitting next to Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

Earlier, Trump said “I might have forced their hand,” referring to Israel. 

The president’s remarks contradicted an account by Secretary of State Marco Rubio that Israel was the one that decided to attack Iran and that dictated Trump’s decision. Rubio said the U.S. made the decision to join the strikes alongside Israel rather than join the fight after likely Iranian retaliatory strikes. 

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt came to Rubio’s defense, posting on X that “No, Marco Rubio Didn’t Claim That Israel Dragged Trump into War with Iran,” sharing an article with that text as the headline.

But senior administration officials told Republican and Democratic lawmakers at a classified briefing on Capitol Hill on Monday that the Israeli plan to strike Iran pushed the United States to take preemptive action to protect U.S. troops stationed at bases throughout the Middle East, whom the Pentagon believed would have been targeted by retaliatory strikes.

Trump, however, the next day said that he formed his opinion that Iran was ready to strike based on the course of negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program. Trump gave the go ahead for strikes against Iran on Friday, hours after the latest round of talks concluded in Geneva. 

“Based on the way the negotiation was going I thought they were going to attack first, if anything, I might have forced Israel’s hand.” Trump said.

“But Israel was ready and we were ready and we’ve had a very very powerful impact.”

Trump initiated a massive military buildup in the Middle East beginning in January, shortly after the U.S. carried out a major operation invading Venezuela to capture the then-president Nicolas Maduro and taking control of the country’s oil trade. 

Trump dispatched a carrier strike group to the Middle East and ordered a second carrier strike group to the region, which arrived at the end of February. 

Trump was using the mass of military force in the region as leverage over the negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Trump at the White House on Feb 11 to go over possible military attack plans, the New York Times reported. 

U.S. and Israeli intelligence reportedly confirmed that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamanei and most of Iran’s senior leadership was gathering for a meeting early Saturday morning in Tehran. The strikes were launched in the morning Saturday local time and Khamanei was later confirmed dead. 

Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

More Administration News

GOP Sen. Thom Tillis unleashes on Noem: ‘Time after time, I’ve been ...

Noem faces GOP heat over $220M ad that boosted ‘your name recognition’

Live updates: Trump says he ‘might have forced’ Israel’s hand in Iran ...

Trump knocks Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly over Iran criticism: ‘MAGA is ...

John Bolton says Hegseth needs ‘attitude adjustment’ after Iran briefing

Pentagon stuns Silicon Valley with Anthropic ban

Trump lambasts UK’s Starmer, Spain over Iran

Speaker Johnson pushes against war powers resolution: ‘Frightening’

Texas voters set to deliver verdict in competitive Senate primaries 

Senate Republicans warn Trump about expanding Iran mission as death toll rises

TSA moves to center of shutdown drama as jittery lawmakers offer warnings for ...

Nancy Mace under investigation by House Ethics Committee

Zinke announces he won’t seek reelection

Cannabis hyperemesis syndrome is on the rise: What symptoms to watch for

Minnesota launches investigation that could lead to charges against immigration ...

Watch live: Noem testifies before Senate on DHS oversight

Labor secretary’s top aides resigning amid IG probe

Sanders proposes $4.4 trillion tax on billionaires

© The Hill