US President Donald Trump on Tuesday boasted about extensive damage inflicted on Iran during the US-Israel attack while denying Israel forced his hand into launching the war.
“Just about everything’s been knocked out,” Trump said as he met German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, answering his first questions from reporters since the strikes began on Saturday.
Trump’s administration has given conflicting reasons for going to war throughout the week. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday that the United States acted only after learning ally Israel would strike. But Trump walked that back quickly during his Oval Office briefing session.
“Based on the way the negotiation was going, I think they (Iran) were going to attack first. And I didn’t want that to happen,” Trump said in the Oval Office. “So, if anything, I might have forced Israel’s hand.”
Uncertainty About Post-Conflict Iran
The US president has also faced criticism for lacking an apparent day-after plan for Iran. He admitted that he was not sure how the situation would play out after the conflict ended.
“I guess the worst case would be, we do this, and then somebody takes over who’s as bad as the previous person, right?” Trump said, referring to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who died in air strikes on the first day of the conflict.
“I guess the worst case would be, we do this, and then somebody takes over who’s as bad as the previous person, right?” said Trump. “That could happen. We don’t want that to happen.”
Trump Advises Iranian Protesters to Wait
Trump also told protesters in Iran to hold off any major moves until the situation had stabilized completely. He has also used the recent deadly crackdown on protests in Iran as justification for the war.
“We’ve said, don’t do it yet. If you’re going to go out and protest, don’t do it yet,” Trump added.
He said two waves of US-Israeli attacks on Iran killed figures he eyed as potential new leaders. Additionally, there had been a “substantial” new attack on a meeting choosing the new leadership.
“Most of the people we had in mind are dead,” he said. “Now we have another group. They may be dead also, based on reports.”
