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During an interview with Fox News Channel’s chief political anchor Bret Baier on Thursday, President Donald Trump revealed that he was informed about Israel’s plans for preemptive strikes on Iran before they took place.
“Iran is not allowed to develop a nuclear weapon, and we aim to return to negotiations. We will see how it unfolds. Several leaders in Iran will no longer be in power,” Trump stated.
In the Israeli strikes on Iran, three of the nation’s top military officials were killed, including Hossein Salami, Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), Mohammad Hossein Bagheri, Chief of the Iranian Armed Forces, and Commander Gholam-Ali Rashid of Iran’s Emergency Command.
Trump has spoken to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu several times in recent days.
Trump tells Fox News’ Bret Baier that he was aware of Israel’s plan to fire on Iran before it happened. (Getty Images)
The Trump administration reached out to at least one key Middle Eastern ally to acknowledge that the strike was going to happen, but said that the U.S. was not involved in the strikes.
A firefighter calls out his colleagues at the scene of an explosion in a residence compound in northern Tehran, Iran, on Friday, June 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
The president said he hopes Iran returns to the negotiating table, though Iran has signaled its intention to pull out of further talks. U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and his team had been scheduled to meet with their Iranian counterparts in Oman on Sunday.
This satellite photo from Planet Labs PBC shows the Natanz nuclear facility in Iran on May 20, 2025. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)
Israeli forces used around 200 fighter jets to strike targets in Iran, destroying dozens of radars and surface-to-air missile launchers as well as nuclear facilities. Iran launched around 100 retaliatory drones toward Israel hours later which Israeli forces said they were working to intercept.
Smoke rises from a location allegedly targeted in Israel’s wave of strikes on Tehran, Iran, on the early morning of June 13, 2025. (SAN/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)
Trump said he is watching for any retaliation, and U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) is on high alert. He noted that the U.S. is ready to defend itself and Israel if Iran retaliates. In recent weeks, the U.S. has replenished Iron Dome missiles.
The president is expected to attend a National Security Council meeting later Friday morning.
Fox News’ Jennifer Griffin contributed to this report.
