Trump Acknowledges Responsibility for Israeli Attack in Iran After Five Months

United States President Donald Trump has acknowledged responsibility for the first Israeli attack in Iran. This contradicts the previous position of the US administration, which stated that Israel carried out the strike alone.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Trump said, “Israel attacked first. The strike was extremely powerful. I was in charge of the matter at that time.”

He added, “When Israel launched its first attack on Iran, it was a historic day for Israel. The damage caused by that strike has not been matched by any subsequent attacks.”

Trump called on Republicans to open the way for passing bills in the Senate with a majority vote by eliminating filibuster rules. He said, just as Israel initiated war against Iran, Republicans must also act with similar determination to change the Senate rules.

On 13 June, Israel launched a major attack on Iran without any direct provocation. Several generals, nuclear scientists, and numerous civilians were killed. In response, Iran fired over a hundred missiles at Israel.

Subsequently, the United States became directly involved in the conflict, carrying out airstrikes on three major nuclear facilities in Iran. However, at the early stages of the war, Washington stated that it was not directly involved in the attacks and warned Iran not to retaliate against US forces or interests.

At that time, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, “Tonight, Israel has unilaterally attacked Iran. The United States is not involved in this operation. Our top priority is to ensure the safety of US forces in the Middle East.”

Later, when Iran launched missile attacks on a US airbase in Qatar, a ceasefire agreement was reached between the two countries.

Since then, Trump has repeatedly claimed credit for the success of the US in the conflict. He has often said that the United States completely destroyed Iran’s nuclear program. However, in his statement on Thursday, he went a step further, claiming he led the operation from the very beginning of the war.

Tehran has not yet released a full assessment of the damage to its nuclear facilities. Iranian officials say that years of experience and expertise have kept their nuclear program intact. No information is available on the current stock of high-enriched uranium in the country.

Notably, Trump had presented himself as a ‘candidate of peace’ and opposed starting a new war. However, during the Iran conflict, parts of his own party pressured him to prevent the US from direct involvement.

In recent weeks, Trump has stated he wants an agreement with Iran in which Tehran will establish formal relations with Israel. He began discussions on Iran’s nuclear program at the start of his second term, though there has been little progress so far.

Analysts say there is currently no urgency in the US administration for new talks with Iran. Meanwhile, Tehran remains skeptical of the US diplomatic proposal. A meeting between representatives of the two countries was scheduled a few days before the Israeli attack.

Khaborwala/TSN