‘We Knew Everything,' Trump Tells Reuters about Israel's Strikes on Iran
Reuters
U.S. President Donald Trump attends the Congressional Picnic at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 12, 2025.
WASHINGTON, June 13 (Reuters) – After months of urging Israel not to strike Iran while he worked toward a nuclear deal, President Donald Trump told Reuters in a phone interview on Friday that he and his team had known the attacks were coming – and still saw room for an accord.
'We knew everything, and 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,' Trump said.
'They can still work out a deal, however, it's not too late,' he added.
Trump had repeatedly pushed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to delay an Israeli attack to give diplomacy more time, though the president himself had threatened to bomb the Gulf nation if nuclear talks failed.
Trump's shifting stance around the Israeli strikes, which he called 'excellent' and 'very successful' in a series of media interviews on Friday, offered one of the most striking examples yet of how he conducts high-stakes negotiations through both frank public rhetoric and behind-the-scenes maneuvers.
The U.S. president offered support for Israel's decision to launch a series of devastating raids in Iran, showing a willingness to embrace the use of military force to set back Tehran's nuclear program. In contrast, some allies stressed the need for restraint.
Asked if the U.S. would support Israel against Iranian counterattacks, Trump said he supported Israel. He said he was not concerned about a regional war breaking out as a result of Israel's strikes but did not elaborate.
'We've been very close to Israel. We're their number one ally by far,' Trump told Reuters, adding, 'We'll see what happens.'
Later on Friday, two U.S. officials said the U.S. military had helped shoot down Iranian missiles headed toward Israel.
Talks in doubt
Still uncertain is whether Trump's attempt to reach an agreement with Iran to halt uranium enrichment is still viable, with a sixth round of talks still scheduled for Sunday in Oman but now in doubt after the attacks.
In negotiations with Iran, Trump sought to persuade the Iranians to give up uranium enrichment and was awaiting a counter-proposal from Iran. Tehran had balked at giving up enrichment, seemingly leaving little room for an agreement.
'They seek enrichment. We can't have enrichment,' Trump told reporters on Monday.
As the week wore on, Trump sounded increasingly resigned to the prospect that Israel would strike and hinted that he knew more than he was willing to talk about publicly.
'I don't want to say it's imminent, but it looks like something that could very well happen. Look, it's very simple, not complicated. Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. Other than that, I want them to be successful,' he told reporters on Thursday before the raids began.
Speaking to Reuters on Friday, Trump said he had given the Iranians 60 days to come to an agreement and that the time had expired with no deal.
'We knew just about everything,' he said. 'We knew enough that we gave Iran 60 days to make a deal and today is 61, right? So, you know, we knew everything.'
Trump said it was unclear if Iran still has a nuclear program following Israeli strikes on the country.
'Nobody knows. It was a very devastating hit,' Trump said.
Israel said it had targeted Iran's nuclear facilities, ballistic missile factories and military commanders at the start of what it warned would be a prolonged operation to prevent Tehran from building an atomic weapon.
Trump said the U.S. still has nuclear talks planned with Iran on Sunday but he was unsure they would take place. U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff was scheduled to meet an Iranian delegation in Oman.
'They're not dead,' Trump said of the U.S.-Iran talks. 'We have a meeting with them on Sunday. Now, I'm not sure if that meeting will take place, but we have a meeting with them on Sunday.'
The president had convened his top national security advisers at Camp David on Sunday night for what he said were discussions that included Iran, and he spoke to Netanyahu on Monday about Iran.
A White House official said Trump spoke with Netanyahu again on Friday. Trump also held talks about the attacks with his National Security Council in the White House Situation Room. No details of the discussions were immediately available.
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But, while Israel could potentially hit the entrance to Fordo and temporarily block access, it is not believed to have the type of earth-penetrating bombs required to blow up the mountain and crack open the nuclear facility inside, Hinz said. That capacity lies with the U.S., which has developed a massive bomb that can be dropped only from large aircraft that Israel does not have in service, he said. The potential for more strikes loomed large. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the attacks will continue "for as many days at it takes to remove this threat." Hinz said the attacks showed Israeli intelligence had "absolutely exceptional" knowledge of Iran's nuclear program and the ability to strike at key targets "with precision." That could mean Israel could sabotage the plant, rather than trying to blast the mountain open. Albright suggested Israel could try to cut off electricity to Fordo, which could lead to centrifuges breaking. Is there risk from radiation? Although Grossi said part of the enrichment facility at Natanz was destroyed, he noted that radiation levels had not spiked. Even if radiation did leak, experts said, the amount would be unlikely to pose a risk to people in the region or even those near the facilities that got hit. "Very little uranium will be released in these kind of attacks," Albright said. Uranium itself is not especially toxic, he said, and is common in parts of the environment. A person standing near an enrichment facility with a leak would probably be exposed to no more radiation than someone who took several transatlantic flights, which receive slightly higher radiation because radiation doses are larger at high altitudes, he said. In order to become sick, someone would have to ingest large quantities of uranium, Albright said, pointing out that the element can be found naturally in seawater and the earth's crust. Rather than radiation, the greater risk might be from fluorine, which is used to enrich uranium and could have been deadly to those nearby if released during an attack. Fluorine is mixed with the uranium during enrichment to turn it into a gas called uranium hexafluoride. It is extremely volatile, will quickly corrode and can burn the skin. It is especially deadly if inhaled.
