Donald Trump has ruled out being dragged into a war with Iran by Israel, as the United States president faces growing criticism over the conflict, including from sectors of his own base.
“Israel never talked to me about war with Iran, the results of October 7 further solidified my lifelong opinion that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon,” Trump wrote in a social media post on Monday.
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There is no public evidence directly linking Iran to Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack against Israel. Trump’s own intelligence chief, Tulsi Gabbard, also testified to Congress in March that Iran is not making nuclear weapons.
Eight months before the war, Trump was repeatedly saying that US strikes on Iranian facilities in June 2025 would “destroy” the country’s nuclear program.
Many of Trump’s critics have argued that Iran poses no imminent threat to the US, and that the war only advances Israel’s interests at the expense of Americans’ security and prosperity.
Iran responded to the joint US-Israeli attacks – which killed the country’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei, other top officials and hundreds of civilians on February 28 – by blocking the Strait of Hormuz, sending oil prices soaring.
In the US, energy prices are skyrocketing, causing inflation. More than a week after the ceasefire between Washington and Tehran took effect, the price of a gallon (3.8 litres) of petrol remains more than $4 – down from less than $3 before the war.
a fresh voting NBC News suggested that two-thirds of Americans disapprove of Trump’s handling of the war.
As discontent grows, many of the president’s critics have pointed to Israel as the real power behind the war – portraying Trump as a weak leader next to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Trump’s 2024 Democratic opponent Kamala Harris said last week, “He entered a war — he was dragged into it by Bibi Netanyahu, let’s be clear about it — entered a war that the American people do not want.”
Harris served as vice president in the Joe Biden administration, which provided diplomatic and military support for Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza for more than two years.
During the 2024 campaign, Trump presented himself as a “peace” candidate, promising to end the wars started under the Biden administration.
Trump’s national security strategy released last year also said Washington would shift its foreign policy and military resources from the Middle East to the Western Hemisphere.
But Netanyahu, who has met Trump in the US six times in a year, has continued to emphasize radicalism against Iran. The most vocal supporters of the war in Washington have also been Israel’s closest allies.
On Monday, Trump renewed his attacks on the mainstream media for its coverage of the war with Iran.
The US president wrote, “I watch and read fake news pundits and pollsters with complete disbelief. 90% of what they say is lies and fabricated stories, and the election is rigged, just like the 2020 presidential election was rigged.”
He also praised his policies in Venezuela, where the country has remained stable and more friendly to Washington following the kidnapping of President Nicolas Maduro by U.S. forces in January.
However, in Iran, American-Israeli attacks led to the closure of Hormuz and Iranian attacks continued throughout the region for approximately six weeks.
The conflict has now stopped and further talks between US and Iranian officials are expected to take place in Pakistan this week. But both sides have threatened to resume fighting if an agreement is not reached.
“Like the consequences in Venezuela, which the media doesn’t like to talk about, the consequences in Iran will be astonishing – and if Iran’s new leaders (regime change!) are smart, Iran could have a great and prosperous future!” Trump wrote.
