\u201cNo, I might have forced their hands. You see, we were having negotiations with these lunatics, and it was my opinion that they [the Iranians] were going to attack first,\u201d Trump claimed.<\/p>\n
Pentagon briefers on Sunday reportedly told Congress that the US did not have intelligence that Iran was planning a preemptive strike against the US. On Monday, Rubio suggested that Washington attacked only after learning that ally Israel was going to strike.<\/p>\n
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\t\t\t\tBy signing up, you agree to the terms<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThey were going to attack. If we didn\u2019t do it, they were going to attack first. I felt strongly about that,\u201d Trump said of Iran on Tuesday. \u201cSo if anything, I might have forced Israel\u2019s hand,\u201d he added. \u201cBut Israel was ready, and we were ready.\u201d<\/p>\n A Channel 12 news report on Tuesday said that Trump and Netanyahu spoke some 15 times in the two months before the attacks were launched, and that the US president gave a green light to the operation after waiting to see if the last-ditch nuclear negotiations with Iran would remain deadlocked.<\/p>\n \t Speaking on day four of the US-Israeli campaign against Iran, Trump asserted that the Islamic Republic\u2019s navy, air force and air defenses have been \u201cknocked out.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThey have no navy. It\u2019s been knocked out. They have no air force. It\u2019s been knocked out. They have no air detection. That\u2019s been knocked out. Their radar\u2019s been knocked out. Just about everything\u2019s been knocked out. So we\u2019ll see how we do,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n He said that the US would continue its campaign in Iran: \u201cThe big scale hitting goes now,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019re going to be in for a lot of hurt. First we have to finish off the military.\u201d<\/p>\n He added that the US had an \u201cunlimited\u201d supply of \u201cmiddle and upper ammunition, which is really what we\u2019re using in this war.\u201d<\/p>\n \t Turning to the discussion of the \u201cday after\u201d in Iran, Trump said the worst-case scenario would be someone taking over the country who is just as bad as the current regime.<\/p>\n \u201cI guess the worst case would be \u2014 we do this, and then somebody takes over who\u2019s as bad as the previous person\u2026 That could happen,\u201d Trump said in response to a question from a reporter. \u201cWe\u2019d like to see somebody in there that\u2019s going to bring it back for the people.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMost of the people we had in mind are dead,\u201d he said. \u201cNow we have another group. They may be dead also, based on reports.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked about Reza Pahlavi, the son of the late exiled former Iranian shah, Trump said that he seems like a nice guy but that someone currently living in Iran would probably be a more suitable candidate to take over the country.<\/p>\n \t In a post on his Truth Social account earlier Tuesday, Trump said that it was \u201ctoo late\u201d to hold diplomatic talks with Iran.<\/p>\n \u201cThey want to talk. I said \u2018Too Late!\u2019\u201d he wrote in response to a Washington Post op-ed hailing his decision to attack Iran.<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva on Tuesday cast doubt on the prospect of negotiations with the US: \u201cFor the time being, we are very doubtful about the usefulness of negotiation,\u201d Ali Bahreini told reporters.<\/p>\n Speaking in the Oval Office, Trump also warned Iranian dissidents against taking to the streets while the bombing is ongoing.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u2019re going to go out and protest, don\u2019t do it yet,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Trump claimed the death toll in Iran\u2019s crackdown on protesters in December and January is \u201cmuch more\u201d than 35,000, after putting the number at 32,000 last week. He said those imposing the crackdown used machine guns to mow down protesters.<\/p>\n The US president was also asked by a reporter why plans weren\u2019t in place to evacuate Americans from the Middle East.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, because it happened all very quickly,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \t In an unprecedented measure, the US State Department called on all Americans to leave over a dozen countries in the Middle East on Monday, even though no evacuation flights have been offered by the US government. The State Department is urging Americans to take commercial flights out of the region, even though much of its airspace is closed.<\/p>\n Trump also said Tuesday that it\u2019s possible that oil prices will climb for a \u201clittle while\u201d but that they\u2019ll go back down, \u201clower than even before\u201d after the war ends.<\/p>\n While praising Merz during their meeting, Trump had harsh words on Tuesday for European allies Britain and Spain.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is not Winston Churchill that we\u2019re dealing with,\u201d Trump said of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who initially refused to let US forces use UK bases, before relenting.<\/p>\n The US president also revived his complaints about the UK\u2019s deal to hand sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, despite his administration previously supporting the move. The remote Indian Ocean archipelago is home to a strategically important American naval and bomber base.<\/p>\n \u201cThe UK has been very, very uncooperative with that stupid island that they have,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n \t He also criticized the British for their windmills and immigration policies and said they need to open up drilling in the North Sea.<\/p>\n 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 defense funding as part of NATO.<\/p>\n \u201cSpain has been terrible,\u201d Trump said, adding: \u201cWe could use their base if we want. We could just fly in and use it.\u201d<\/p>\n Agencies, Nava Freiberg and Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t You clearly find our careful reporting of the Iran war valuable, at a time when facts are often distorted and news coverage often lacks context.<\/p>\n Your support is essential to continue our work. We want to continue delivering the professional journalism you value, even as the demands on our newsroom have grown dramatically during this ongoing conflict.<\/p>\n So today, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. For as little as $6 a month you’ll become our partners while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing\u00a0exclusive content\u00a0available only to Times of Israel Community members.<\/p>\n Thank you, \t\t\t
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/AP26062620905569-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tUS President Donald Trump (right) meets with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in the Oval Office at the White House, March 3, 2026, in Washington. (AP\/Mark Schiefelbein)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/AFP__20260303__99QW64G__v3__HighRes__TopshotIranUsIsraelWar-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tA plume of smoke rises after a strike on the Iranian capital Tehran, on March 3, 2026. (ATTA KENARE \/ AFP)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/AFP__20260228__2264099364__v2__HighRes__AmericansReactToUSAndIsraelSAttackOnIran-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tA woman holds pictures of exiled Iranian crown prince Reza Pahlavi, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and US President Donald Trump as members of the Iranian community and supporters celebrate on February 28, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (MARIO TAMA \/Getty Images via AFP)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/F260226AVS06-e1772218162571-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tIllustrative: Travelers are seen at the Ben Gurion International airport near Tel Aviv, February 26, 2026. (Avshalom Sassoni\/Flash90)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/AFP__20260228__99C247M__v1__HighRes__BritainIranUsIsraelConflict-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tBritain\u2019s Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks from Downing Street in central London on February 28, 2026, following the US and Israel\u2019s strikes on Iran. (Jonathan Brady \/ POOL \/ AFP)<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\tYou appreciate our wartime journalism\t\t\t<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/DH-new-headshot-circular.png\" "\\"\\"\/")
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David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel<\/p>\n
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