Trump urges Iran to take deal while praising brutal Israeli airstrikes
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Trump, the US president eyeing a Nobel Peace prize, warns Iran that more massive destruction is coming, demanding a deal "before it’s too late."
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US President Donald Trump speaks during a summer soiree on the South Lawn of the White House, Wednesday, June 4, 2025, in Washington (AP)
US President Donald Trump warned Iran on Friday to urgently return to the negotiating table, following Israeli strikes targeting nuclear and military facilities across the country. The former president cautioned that failure to act swiftly would result in further “death and destruction.”
Posting on his Truth Social platform, Trump wrote: “There has already been great death and destruction, but there is still time to make this slaughter, with the next already planned attacks being even more brutal, come to an end.”
“Iran must make a deal, before there is nothing left... JUST DO IT, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.”
Moreover, in an interview for Fox News, the US president, who is eyeing a Nobel Peace Prize, confirmed he was informed ahead of time about the Israeli regime’s intention to strike Iranian targets. He stressed that the US was hoping to re-enter talks with Iran but reiterated his firm opposition to Tehran’s nuclear ambitions, despite their peacefulness, opting instead for "more brutal" Israeli attacks.
“Iran cannot have a nuclear bomb,” Trump said, according to Fox News. “We are hoping to get back to the negotiating table. We will see.”
Fox also reported that Trump’s administration contacted at least one key Middle Eastern ally before the strikes to acknowledge that the operation was about to occur, while emphasizing that the US itself was not involved.
Statement from Secretary of State Marco Rubio
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) June 13, 2025
“Tonight, Israel took unilateral action against Iran. We are not involved in strikes against Iran and our top priority is protecting American forces in the region. Israel advised us that they believe this action was necessary for its… pic.twitter.com/5FFesh3dkF
In related news, according to an interview for ABC News on Friday, Trump has described "Israel's" aggression against Iran as "excellent," with the US president threatening that much more is to come.
"I think it's been excellent. We gave them a chance and they didn't take it. They got hit hard, very hard. They got hit about as hard as you're going to get hit. And there's more to come. A lot more," Trump was quoted as saying by an ABC reporter on X.
'I gave them 60 days'
Later on in the day, Trump publicly endorsed the Israeli occupation’s strikes on Iran, calling them “a very successful attack” during a phone interview with CNN.
“We, of course, support Israel, obviously, and supported it like nobody has ever supported it,” Trump told the network in a brief exchange.
Trump claimed he had previously issued a warning to Iran. “Iran should have listened to me when I said — you know, I gave them, I don’t know if you know, but I gave them a 60-day warning, and today is day 61,” he said. “They should now come to the table to make a deal before it’s too late. It will be too late for them.”
He further asserted that the individuals he had previously negotiated with in Iran were no longer alive, remarking, “You know the people I was dealing with are dead, the hardliners.” Trump declined to identify whom he meant.
When asked by CNN if those deaths were the result of last night’s Israeli aggression, Trump responded by saying: “They didn’t die of the flu; they didn’t die of Covid.”
'Israel' pounds nuclear, military targets in Iran
On Friday, the Israeli occupation launched a large-scale aerial assault against Iran, reportedly striking over 100 targets, including the sensitive nuclear site at Natanz.
Israeli occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed the operation targeted Iranian atomic facilities, which "Israel" claims pose an "existential threat", yet several residential areas were attacked asd well.
Iranian media reported that top military figures, including IRGC commander Hossein Salami and Armed Forces Chief of Staff Mohammad Bagheri, were killed in the strikes. The extent of the damage to nuclear infrastructure remains unclear.
Despite Trump’s public comments and the early warning to a regional partner, the current US administration has tried to distance itself from the Israeli strikes. Secretary of State Marco Rubio emphasized that Washington was not part of the military operation and that protecting American forces stationed in the region remains a top priority.
“Let me be clear: Iran should not target US interests or personnel,” Rubio said Thursday.
US complicity exposed
Yet, while the Trump administration publicly tried to distance itself from the operation, claiming no military involvement, conflicting reports suggest otherwise. Israeli officials told Axios that Washington provided a covert green light, with both sides orchestrating public denials to maintain strategic ambiguity.
Officials argued that Trump’s repeated public opposition to a strike was part of a ruse designed to lull Tehran into complacency, but in reality, coordination with Washington was extensive.
Two Israeli officials told Axios that Trump and his aides were only pretending to oppose an Israeli attack in public and didn't express opposition in private. "We had a clear U.S. green light," one claimed.
