Trump Fully Endorses Israel’s ‘Excellent’ Attack on Iran After Rubio Distanced US From Strike
(AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)
Close observers of the Trump administration’s reaction to Israel’s attack on Iran might be left confused, as President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have given notably different takes.
Israel launched a series of strikes against Iran on Thursday evening before warning civilians that a retaliatory strike was “expected in the immediate future.” Several explosions could be seen in Tehran on Thursday evening as Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz issued a statement confirming Israel’s attack on Iran.
“Following the state of Israel’s preemptive strike against Iran, a missile and drone attack against the state of Israel and its civilian population is expected in the immediate future,” said Katz, raising fears of escalation and sending Israeli citizens into bomb shelters at 3 a.m.
Immediately after news broke of the attack, Secretary of State Rubio distanced the Trump administration from Israel’s strikes against Iran on Thursday and urged Tehran not to “target U.S. interests or personnel” in the region.
“Tonight, Israel took unilateral action against Iran. We are not involved in strikes against Iran and our top priority is protecting American forces in the region,” claimed Rubio in a statement. “Israel advised us that they believe this action was necessary for its self-defense. President Trump and the Administration have taken all necessary steps to protect our forces and remain in close contact with our regional partners. Let me be clear: Iran should not target U.S. interests or personnel.”
However, in an early Friday morning phone call with ABC News correspondent Jonathan Karl, Trump insisted that he found Israel’s preemptive or preventative attack on Iran, was excellent. Karl shared a portion of his conversation via social media.
“I think it’s been excellent,” Trump reportedly told Karl. “We gave them a chance and they didn’t take it. They got hit hard, very hard. They got hit about as hard as you’re going to get hit. And there’s more to come. A lot more.”
Fox & Friends co-host Lawrence Jones also reported a phone conversation with Trump early Friday morning, before the 6 a.m. hour the show starts.
Jones revealed that Trump said, “It didn’t have to go down like this. I wanted peace. I wanted to be known as the president of peace. This is why I took a whole tour in the Middle East.”
Trump also spoke with Fox News anchor Bret Baier Thursday night. “Iran cannot have a nuclear bomb and we are hoping to get back to the negotiating table. We will see. There are several people in leadership that will not be coming back,” he said.
Asked about possible retaliation by Iran, Trump said, “We will defend Israel if necessary.”
