Trump denies Israel forced him to launch war, says most of Iran's military knocked out

2026-03-04 - 08:33

WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump denied on Tuesday Israel had forced him into launching the war on Iran but he claimed that the US-Israeli strikes had "knocked out" most of the country's military. The 79-year-old Republican has faced criticism for conflicting messages about his justifications and aims after launching the region's biggest conflict in more than two decades. "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. "They have no navy, it's been knocked out. They have no air force. It's been knocked out. They have no air detection, that's been knocked out. Their radar has been knocked out." Trump, who has given differing reasons in recent days for launching "Operation Epic Fury," claimed that Iran was going to strike first and that the United States acted to pre-empt it. In doing so, he walked back Secretary of State Marco Rubio's comments on Monday that Washington did so only after learning that ally Israel was going to strike. In an attempt to justify Trump's decision to start the war, Rubio said Israel was planning to strike Iran, which would have prompted Tehran to strike the US assets in the region, requiring Washington to launch preemptive strikes on Iran. Many Iran analysts have said the US-Israel war serves the interests of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, not of Washington.When asked about Rubio’s statement, Trump on Tuesday offered a different characterization, saying he launched the war because he “thought we were going to have a situation where we were going to be attacked”. "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." The Israeli prime minister has, for more than two decades, called for the toppling of Iran’s government, and has been a leading opponent to diplomacy related to Iran’s nuclear program.The administration has provided scant evidence of a planned attack on US assets or that either Iran’s nuclear or ballistic programs offered an immediate threat. Rubio also sought to distance himself from his statements, claiming his words had been taken out of context.Rubio had, in earlier comments, pointed to the broader threat posed by Iran, including its ballistic missile and drone capacity. Trump faced criticism for the lack of an apparent plan for Iran and he admitted that he was not sure how the situation would play out. "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 Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He said that two waves of US-Israeli attacks had killed Iranian figures he had eyed as potential new leaders, adding that there had been a "substantial" new attack on a meeting to choose 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." Earlier on Tuesday, Iranian media reported that Israeli strikes had targeted the Assembly of Experts building, the body that chooses the country’s Supreme Leader, in Qoms. Israel said that the building was "flattened" in the strikes, apparently wiping out the 88-strong assembly of senior clerics, but Iran denied anyone was hurt, saying the building had already been evacuated. Trump has previously urged the people of Iran to rise up and overthrow their government, but toppling the Islamic republic was not among the four key goals for the operation that he gave on Monday, including stopping its nuclear program. On Tuesday the US leader told protesters to hold off. He has also used the recent deadly crackdown on protests in Iran as a justification for the war.Germany's Merz voiced support for the US-Israeli war on Iran but said he hoped it would end soon, saying it was hurting the global economy. "This is, of course, damaging our economies. This is true for the oil prices, and this is true for the gas prices as well. So that's the reason why we all hope that this war will come to an end as soon as possible," he said. Trump insisted soaring oil prices would drop "lower than even before" after the war ends.While praising Merz, Trump had harsh words for European allies Britain and Spain. "This is not Winston Churchill that we're dealing with," Trump said of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer who initially refused to let US forces use UK bases, before relenting. Trump also threatened to cut off trade with Spain, whose left-wing government refused to let US planes use its bases to attack Iran and objected to raising defence funding as part of NATO. — Agencies