U.S. president insists military action was independent choice as tensions persist, ceasefire nears expiration, and clashes continue in the Gulf
President Donald Trump on Monday stated that Israel did not pressure him into launching the war with Iran.
“Israel never talked me into the war with Iran,” he wrote on Truth Social.
Referring to the aftermath of the October 7 Hamas-led attacks on Israel, Trump said the events reinforced his long-held stance that “IRAN CAN NEVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON.”
He also criticized media outlets and opinion polls, claiming that much of “what they say are lies and made up stories.”
Later in the post, Trump urged Iranian leadership to reach an agreement with the United States to secure a “great and prosperous future.”
Since the conflict began on Feb. 28, U.S. and Israeli forces have conducted joint strikes on Iranian targets, killing dozens of senior officials, including former leader Ali Khamenei. Some Democratic lawmakers and political commentators have argued that Israel played a decisive role in drawing the United States into another Middle East conflict.
Representative Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) on Monday accused Trump of allowing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to shape U.S. foreign policy.
“All Trump did is listen to Netanyahu—that’s his entire foreign policy. I resent the fact that Israel is going to tell the United States what to do. The American president should call the shots in this country,” Khanna told Fox News.
In earlier remarks on March 3, Trump rejected a reporter’s question about Israeli influence, suggesting instead that Iran was preparing an imminent attack prior to U.S.–Israeli strikes.
ABC News correspondent Rachel Scott asked whether Netanyahu had drawn the United States into the war.
“No. I might have forced their hand,” Trump responded. “We were having negotiations with these lunatics, and it was my opinion that they were going to attack first.”
Trump’s latest comments come as a nearly two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran is set to expire Tuesday evening, and as U.S. forces seized an Iranian container ship attempting to evade a naval blockade.
The U.S. military said it fired on an Iranian-flagged cargo vessel heading toward Bandar Abbas on Sunday after a six-hour standoff, disabling its engines. United States Central Command (CENTCOM) released footage Monday showing Marines boarding the ship.
Trump also said his envoys would arrive in Islamabad on Monday evening. Iranian state media reported that Tehran had rejected new peace talks, citing the ongoing blockade and what it described as Washington’s shifting positions and “excessive demands.”
The president had previously warned that the United States would destroy Iran’s infrastructure, including bridges and power plants, if Tehran refused U.S. terms. Iran responded that any such attacks would prompt strikes on power and desalination facilities in Gulf Arab states.
Since the early 1980s, Trump has consistently criticized Iran’s clerical leadership established after the Iranian Revolution and has repeatedly called for U.S. military intervention.
