Donald Trump, President of the United States of America, has maintained that Israel did not compel the US to act in the recent attack on Iran.
Trump stated that there was no external pressure leading to the strikes that resulted in the deaths of several Iranian military leaders. He added that Iran was preparing to launch the first attack, which he wanted to prevent.
Over the weekend, US and Israeli operations targeted Iran, resulting in the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Khamenei’s daughter, grandchild, son-in-law, and daughter-in-law were also reportedly killed in the attacks.
The Israeli army confirmed that Ali Shamkhani, a top advisor to Khamenei, and the head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, General Mohammad Pakpour, were among those killed.
US officials said that more than 49 top Iranian military personnel have been eliminated so far.
“I think they were going to attack first, and I didn’t want that to happen,” Trump told reporters on Tuesday.
“So, if anything, I might have forced Israel’s hand. We were having negotiations with these lunatics, and it was my opinion that they [Iran] were going to attack first.”
Trump added that the combined US and Israeli strikes have had a “very powerful impact because virtually everything they have has been knocked out.”