Donald Trump has once again claimed that Israel and the Middle East owe their survival to him. In his characteristic, boastful fashion, the US President said on Friday that Israel and the “entire Middle East” would not exist if he had not stopped Iran from having a nuclear weapon.
The remark comes amid a growing buzz of the US striking Iran again.
“Israel and, in fact, the entire Middle East, would not exist today if I did not stop Iran from having a Nuclear Weapon. Nobody wants to say that, but everybody knows it’s true!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
This is not the first time he has credited himself for Israel’s survival. In an interview with Fox & Friends, he said, “Frankly, if I weren’t president of the United States, Israel today would not exist.”
Speaking in the Oval Office in June, he said that if Iran had a nuclear weapon, there would be no Israel and no Middle East.
The post comes days after a major change in US policy on aid to Israel. The US gives Israel $3.8 billion in military aid a year under a 10-year agreement that began in 2018. Trump has announced that the aid will end this year because Israel does not need it.
Pressed on whether this meant military aid or cash, he said, “Any way you want to define it,” and added that Israel can buy whatever it wants.
The remarks also follow the midterm elections, in which Democrats won both chambers of Congress.
During his first speech after the midterm loss, a reporter asked about a social media post by Vice President JD Vance, who said Republicans lost so badly because of the war in Iran. “Well, I think it’s largely true,” Trump replied. If he could go back, though, he said he would not do it differently.
He has often described nuclear weapons as the main reason he struck Iran. At a rally in Iowa on November 1, he said: “I stopped Iran from having a nuclear weapon.” Explaining his decision, he said, “I said, ‘let’s make that journey into the Middle East because we cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon.'”
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Will The US Strike Iran Again?
In 3 days, Trump has switched his stance on resuming strikes against Iran multiple times. On the eve of the midterms, he answered a direct “no” when asked if he planned to continue strikes after the vote. On Tuesday, he told the Financial Times that he had no immediate plans for fresh strikes, though American forces remained ready.
On Thursday, when asked about military action against Iran, he said the country was largely destroyed and added, “You’ll know soon enough.”