Trump hails Israel’s Iran strikes as ‘excellent’
US President Donald Trump described Israel’s strikes on Iran as “excellent” on Friday, and warned that there is “a lot more to come” unless Tehran agrees to a nuclear deal. He made the remarks in a phone call with ABC News chief Washington correspondent Jonathan Karl.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) conducted a series of airstrikes on numerous targets across Iran earlier on Friday, hitting military and nuclear sites, as well as central Tehran.
Iran has confirmed that the attacks killed Major General Hossein Salami, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and Major General Mohammad Bagheri, the chief of staff of the Iranian Armed Forces.
Media reports claimed that as many as 78 people were killed in the strikes, including several other senior military commanders and nuclear scientists, with another 329 wounded. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the operation, which came two days before scheduled US-Iran nuclear talks in Oman, aimed to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
“I think it’s been excellent,” Trump said, commenting on the attack. “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 earlier told Fox News that he was aware of the planned attack beforehand. Asked by Karl whether the US took part, he replied, “I don’t want to comment on that.”
Karl noted that Trump still appears intent on reaching a deal with Tehran, though the upcoming talks in Oman will likely be delayed following the strikes.
The White House has not commented on the call, but Trump made similar remarks in a post on Truth Social later in the day.
“Two months ago I gave Iran a 60 day ultimatum to make a deal. They should have done it,” Trump wrote. “I told them what to do, but they just couldn’t get there. Now they have, perhaps, a second chance!”
The US and Iran resumed nuclear talks in April, but no breakthrough has been reached. Washington demands the total dismantlement of Iran’s nuclear program. Tehran, which insists that its enrichment activities are entirely peaceful and for civilian use only, considers the demand unacceptable.
