In a recent press engagement, former President Donald Trump firmly refuted claims that Israel had maneuvered the United States into a conflict with Iran. Contrary to these allegations, Trump suggested that he might have been the one to influence Israel’s actions. This statement came amidst a wave of criticism from his staunch MAGA supporters, who have been vocal about their disapproval of the escalating situation.

Trump’s remarks seem to contradict the assertions made by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who had briefed lawmakers on the operation known as Epic Fury. Rubio explained, “We were aware of an impending action by Israel and understood it would likely lead to attacks on American forces. To minimize casualties, we needed to act preemptively.” This strategic foresight was aimed at mitigating potential threats before they could materialize.

Despite the mounting tensions, Trump continues to champion the operation’s success. However, this comes against a backdrop of heightened security warnings for Americans abroad following attacks targeting U.S. consulates. The State Department has announced initiatives to facilitate the evacuation of Americans from the Middle East, including the provision of military and charter flights out of countries like the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan. As the conflict intensifies, over 9,000 Americans have already been evacuated, though an additional 3,000 are seeking assistance for evacuation.

But Trump responded Tuesday, saying that due to failing negotiations with Iran, he believed they would attack first, ‘and I didn’t want that to happen.’ ‘You see, we were having negotiations with these lunatics, and it was my opinion that they were going to attack first,’ the president explained. ‘They were going to attack first, I felt strongly about that. So if anything, I might have forced Israel’s hand.’ Trump addressed the nation on two separate occasions over the weekend, outlining the mission to wipe out Iran’s leadership and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He encouraged regime change but did not propose a replacement leadership. The President initially stated that the war would last four to five weeks, but he’s since said the US has the capabilities to engage for ‘far longer,’ if needed. He struck a more maximalist position than before, saying that ‘the big wave hasn’t even happened’ and swatting away Iran’s requests for peace talks. ‘Too late,’ he posted on Truth Social.

Vice President JD Vance said in an interview on Fox News on Monday night that the aim was to ensure ‘Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon’. He claimed that there is ‘just no way that Donald Trump is going to allow this country to get into a multiyear conflict with no clear end in sight and no clear objective.’ Further clouding the picture, a White House official told the Daily Mail on Tuesday that there were three aims: destroy the threat posed by Iran’s ballistic missiles, its missile industry, and its Navy. The official mentioned neither Iran’s nuclear facilities nor regime change. The US and Israel launched a fresh bombing raid in Tehran on Tuesday. Israel warned civilians in Persian to evacuate the Hakimiya Industrial Zone and the area around Payam Airport in Karaj, where they were striking military targets. The announcement followed an overnight barrage the Israelis said had destroyed key government and security compounds in Tehran.

The US Embassy in Saudi Arabia sent out a security alert shortly after 8am EST warning of ‘imminent’ missile and drone attacks over the city of Dhahran, a major center for the oil industry and the headquarters of Aramco. ‘Do not come to the US Consulate. Take cover immediately in your residence on the lowest available floor and away from windows. Do not go outside,’ the warning stated. The warning came after the Riyadh embassy was closed following an overnight two-drone attack that sparked a ‘limited fire,’ Saudi Arabia’s Defense Ministry said, with Americans urged to avoid the compound. It followed an attack on the US Embassy in Kuwait, which announced it had been closed until further notice.

The backlash from top conservative pundits has amplified in recent days due to the unclear messaging from administration leadership about what prompted US involvement. ‘There is nothing unpatriotic or unsupportive of one’s conservatism or general adherence to MAGA-type principles to say, ‘I would like to be better convinced that this is worth the sacrifice of American blood and treasure,” pro-Trump media personality Megyn Kelly said on her show. Tucker Carlson said: ‘This is Israel’s war. This is not the United States’ war.’ ‘This war is not being waged on behalf of American national security objectives, to make the United States safer or richer… This war is waged purely because Israel wanted it to be waged,’ he added. Carlson made a stop in Israel last month for a sit-down interview with US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee. The former Fox host exclusively told the Daily Mail that he was detained in Tel Aviv by Israeli officials at the airport while trying to leave the country.

During his remarks to the media Tuesday, Trump also launched a fresh attack on Sir Keir Starmer. ‘This is not Winston Churchill we are dealing with.’ His fresh swipe comes as he continued to fume at the PM’s initial refusal to allow American bombers to use British bases to strike Iran. And the UK wasn’t the only European nation to get the cold shoulder on Tuesday. Trump warned that if ally nations don’t get on board with the plan, he will retaliate. The president told reporters on Tuesday that he’s cutting off all trade with Spain after their government refused to let American forces use the bases in their country to strike Iran. ‘Spain has absolutely nothing we need,’ the president said. ‘We’re gonna cut off all trade with Spain. We don’t want anything to do with Spain.’

The day prior, Trump bragged at a Medal of Honor event at the White House that the military operation in Iran was already ahead of schedule. It came after he told the Daily Mail in an exclusive call on Sunday that he expects the active conflict with Iran to go on for four weeks or less. He clarified that timeline on Monday, saying it could be between four and five weeks. He touted the US military’s success on Tuesday as they worked with Israel to ‘knock out’ Iran’s military force. ‘They have no navy. It’s been knocked out. They have no air force. It’s been knocked out. They have no air detection, that’s been knocked out. Their radar has been knocked out. And just about everything’s been knocked out.’ Operation Epic Fury began overnight on Saturday morning after Trump gave the green light. He monitored the military operation from his makeshift situation room in Mar-a-Lago.

Dozens of Iranian leaders were left dead and Trump says that much of Iran’s military infrastructure and missile systems were taken out in the bombings. Six US service members have died so far, and Trump warns more might be killed in the conflict that he says could last four or five weeks. Trump, however, believes that the conflict is a success so far. ‘We had a very very powerful impact because virtually everything they have has been knocked out now,’ he told reporters in the Oval Office during his bilateral meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Tuesday. He added: ‘Their missile count is going way down.’ ‘I’ve never had more compliments on something I did, people felt it’s something that had to be done,’ he boasted. ‘So if we have a little high oil prices for a little while, but as soon as this ends, those prices are going to drop, lower than even before.