Trump says he feared that Iran would ‘attack first’

President Trump said Tuesday he struck Iran because he was convinced that Tehran was going to “attack first.”

Mr. Trump, speaking at the White House with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, was responding to assertions that Israel wanted to go to war with Iran and dragged the U.S. along.

“No, I might have forced their hand,” Mr. Trump said of Israel. “It was my opinion [Iran was] going to attack first.”

Mr. Trump ordered joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran early Saturday, saying Tehran did not agree to American demands during negotiations over the Islamic republic’s nuclear ambitions, missile programs and support for terrorist proxies in the Middle East.

“I think they were going to attack first, and I didn’t want that to happen,” the president said. “So if anything, I might have forced Israel’s hand. But Israel was ready, and we were ready.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made no secret of his desire to take out the Islamic republic’s regime, given its role in sponsoring anti-Israel terrorism.

Mr. Trump’s comments on Tuesday positioned the U.S. as the leader of the joint operation against Iran.

“They have no navy, it’s been knocked out. They have no air force, that’s been knocked out,” Mr. Trump said of Iran, adding that its air-detection systems were destroyed. “Just about everything’s been knocked out.”