'I might have forced Israel's hand': Trump denies being pressured by Netanyahu into war

President Donald Trump vehemently denied that he was pushed into joining the military operation against Iran by Israel.

The joint Israeli-U.S. strikes on Iran have entered a fourth day and are likely to continue for some time as Iran retaliates with missile strikes against its neighbors in the Middle East.

'Israel was ready, and we were ready. And we've had a very, very powerful impact because virtually everything they have has been knocked out now.'

Opponents of the strikes have lobbed the accusation that the Israelis pushed Trump into joining their military action. At the White House on Tuesday, he rebuffed the suggestion that Israel, and specifically Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was to blame.

"Did Israel force your hand to launch these strikes against Iran? Did Netanyahu pull the United States into this war?" a reporter asked.

"No. I might have forced their hand," Trump said.

"You see, we were having negotiations with these lunatics. And it was my opinion that they were going to attack first. They were going to attack if we didn't do it. They were going to attack first — I felt strongly about that. And we have great negotiators, great people, people that do this very successfully and have done it all their lives, very successful," he explained.

"Based on the way the negotiation was going, I think they were going to attack first. And I didn't want that to happen," he added. "So, if anything, I might have forced Israel's hand. But Israel was ready, and we were ready. And we've had a very, very powerful impact because virtually everything they have has been knocked out now."

The president also offered what he thought might be the "worst-case scenario" in Iran.

"I guess the worst case would be, we do this, and then somebody takes over who is as bad as the previous person, right," the president said. "That could happen. We don't want that to happen. That would probably be the worst: You go through this, and then in five years you realize you put somebody in who was no better."

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The president was hosting German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who said his country supports the effort to remove the regime in Iran.

"As I said in Germany the last two days, we are supporting the United States and Israel to get rid of this terrible terrorist regime, and we are looking forward to [the] day after," Merz said. "And we have to talk about the strategy, what is following after this regime is away."

The strikes on Iran have led directly to the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was also reportedly killed, though an aide told Turkish news outlet Anadolu Agency about Ahmadinejad on Sunday: "I am in touch with him. All is good."

The remaining regime has responded by striking at nearby Middle East states hosting U.S. military bases and assets.

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