Trump applauds Israeli strikes, says Iran now has ‘second chance' to make a deal
Washington: US President Donald Trump says Iran has a second chance to negotiate a nuclear deal and stave off 'even more brutal' attacks being planned by Israel in coming days, as Tehran began its retaliation by firing ballistic missiles at Israeli cities.
Trump was conducting a meeting of the National Security Council in the White House Situation Room on Friday, Washington time, following Israel's 'pre-emptive' strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities and top government personnel the night before.
In a series of short phone interviews with US media, Trump indicated he was fully aware of Israel's operations in advance, and said Iran must make a deal that forbids it from developing a nuclear weapon 'before there is nothing left'.
'We knew everything,' Trump told Reuters of Israel's attack plans. 'I tried to save Iran humiliation and death. I tried to save them very hard because I would have loved to have seen a deal worked out. They can still work out a deal, however. It's not too late.'
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also said the US had been informed about the strikes in advance. He and Trump have spoken and were expected to remain in regular contact, according to the White House.
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On his TruthSocial account, Trump said he gave Iran a 60-day ultimatum two months ago to 'make a deal' that would restrict them from developing a nuclear weapon.
'They should have done it! Today is day 61. I told them what to do, but they just couldn't get there. Now they have, perhaps, a second chance!' he wrote.
The president's comments indicated greater support for Israel's actions than a terse initial statement from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in the immediate aftermath of the strikes on Thursday night, US time – which expressed neither support for nor condemnation of Israel and stressed that the US was not involved.
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