This article has been updated as story develops.
Last night President Donald Trump acknowledged that his administration knew about the Israeli attacks on Iran. This morning on Truth Social he suggested that it was part of a plan to get Tehran to accept a nuclear deal and if they do not comply now, "it will only get worse."
"Certain Iranian hardliner’s spoke bravely, but they didn’t know what was about to happen. They are all DEAD now, and it will only get worse! 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, and save what was once known as the Iranian Empire. No more death, no more destruction, JUST DO IT, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE."
Israel carried out air strikes against targets in Iran’s capital city, Tehran, in the early hours of Friday morning local time. As of 10 PM EST, reports were coming in that strikes had killed at least four top Iranian officials, along with commander in chief of the Revolutionary Guards, Gen. Hossein Salami.
Two prominent nuclear scientists Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi and Fereydoun Abbasi were killed when Israel attacked their homes, according to Iran state television. Other civilians were killed in Tehran, according to the New York Times, but explosions were reported in other areas of the country, too, specifically locations housing Iran's nuclear facilities and military bases, including Natanz, Kermanshah, Isfahan, Arak and Tabriz.
The spokesman of Iran’s Armed Forces, Gen. Abolfazl Shekarchi, said on state television that Israel and the United States will “recieve a forceful slap” and Iran’s Armed Forces would be retaliating with counterstrikes. “A retaliation attack is definite, God willingly," he said.
In a statement released by the White House shortly after the first reports of the attacks surfaced, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. was not involved in the attacks.
“Tonight, Israel took unilateral action against Iran,” according to the statement. “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 self-defense. President Trump and the Administration have taken all necessary steps to protect our forces and remain in close contact with our regional partners. Let me be clear: Iran should not target U.S. interests or personnel.”
Later, Fox News reported an exclusive interview with Trump following the strikes. From Fox's Jennifer Griffin: "President Trump was aware of the strikes beforehand. There were no surprises, but the US was NOT involved militarily and hopes Iran will return to the negotiating table (with Iran)"
Trump reportedly told Fox's Brett Baier, "Iran cannot have a nuclear bomb and we are hoping to get back to the negotiating table. We will see."
Trump is watching for any retaliation, and U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) is on high alert, Griffin said late Thursday. "He noted that the U.S. is ready to defend itself and Israel if Iran retaliates."
But by Friday morning the outlines of a more coordinated plan were coming into view, as Trump suggested on social media that he not only knew about the strikes but they were being used to coerce the Iranians into his preferred bargaining position in talks that until yesterday appeared to be going in a generally positive direction.
His chief Iran negotiator, Steve Witkoff, was scheduled to meet with Iran’s foreign minister on Sunday for a sixth round of talks on a possible deal that would curb Tehran’s nuclear program. The sticking point, of course, is whether Iran would be allowed to maintain its own civilian enrichment program. The Israelis and their hardline supporters in the U.S. have been adamant that their entire nuclear program should be destroyed.
Nevertheless, Trump has been saying all week — and the media has been reporting it — that he's been telling Israel to stand down on any planned attacks.
“I told [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu] this would be inappropriate to do right now because we’re very close to a solution,” Trump told reporters Wednesday. “Now, that could change at any moment. It could change with a phone call. But right now, I think they want to make a deal. And, if we can make a deal, (it would) save a lot of lives.”
The strikes also came only a day after the U.S. started evacuating its embassies in the Middle East and started allowing voluntary departures of military dependents from its bases and facilities there. At the time, no reason other than safety was given, though Trump ominously said Wednesday night that the Middle East "could be a dangerous place."
After his comments over the last several hours the question of whether the U.S. would intervene if and when Iran retaliates appears to be moot.
After the bombs started dropping, the preeminent pro-Israel lobby group in Washington, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAIC), called for Washington to support Israel's fight on X: “America must stand with our ally as it takes action to protect its families from the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism.”
Others suggest this was all part of an elaborate plan to strike Iran from the very beginning. "President Trump’s deception campaign against Khamenei and the Islamic Republic will take its place as one of the most effective ever run by a political leader," declared Mark Dubowitz of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, a pro-Israel think tank based in the U.S.
Meanwhile, leading Democrats began coming out hard against the strikes before night's end, but before Trump's most recent comments. "Israel’s alarming decision to launch airstrikes on Iran is a reckless escalation that risks igniting regional violence," said Senate Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Jack Reed (D-R.I.) who added "military aggression of this scale is never the answer."
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., who sits on the foreign relations committee, said the attacks were "clearly designed to scuttle the Trump Administration's negotiations with Iran."
"A war between Israel and Iran may be good for Netanyahu’s domestic politics, but it will likely be disastrous for both the security of Israel, the United States, and the rest of the region. As Secretary Rubio stated, the United States was not involved in today's strikes, and we have no obligation to follow Israel into a war we did not ask for and will make us less safe."
Meanwhile, Republican hawks were already envisioning the need for an American military response. After saying "game on" when the reports of the first strikes were coming in, Sen. Lindsey Graham, (R-S.C.) said in a social media post that "People are wondering if Iran will attack American military personnel or interests throughout the region because of Israel’s attack on Iran’s leadership and nuclear facilities," he wrote.
"My answer is if they do, America should have an overwhelming response, destroying all of Iran’s oil refineries and oil infrastructure putting the ayatollah and his henchmen out of the oil business."
Referring to comments from Trump and other administration officials that Israel acted alone, Adam Weinstein, deputy director of the Middle East program at the Quincy Institute said, "Denying direct involvement in the attacks doesn’t change that Washington knew about them and this may be interpreted by Tehran was complicity which could put U.S. troops in the region at risk.”
