President Donald Trump told the Wall Street Journal on Friday that he knew in advance of Israel’s plans to strike Iran.
Responding to a question about what kind of heads-up he had gotten before the attacks, Trump said, “Heads up? It wasn’t a heads-up. It was, we know what’s going on.”
In separate media calls on Friday morning, Trump called the strikes “excellent” and “a very successful attack,” stressing that his administration supported Israel “like nobody has ever supported it.”
Speaking to CNN’s Dana Bash, Trump pushed Tehran to reach a deal with him.
“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.
Start your day with essential news from Salon. Sign up for our free morning newsletter, Crash Course.
In a phone call with ABC News’ Jonathan Karl, Trump warned that there was “a lot more” to come from Israel’s military attacks. He later elaborated on social media, urging Tehran to agree to a new nuclear deal, and warning the country of further bloodshed it not.
In the immediate aftermath of the attacks, Secretary of State Marco Rubio tried to distance the U.S. from Israel’s actions, calling them “unilateral.”
“We are not involved in strikes against Iran and our top priority is protecting American forces in the region,” Rubio said in a statement. Reports say that the strikes killed at least four top Iranian officials, as well as nuclear scientists. Iranian state media says that at least 78 people were killed and 329 injured during the attacks.
