Trump tells ABC Israel strikes on Iran 'excellent' and warns 'more to come'
In the wake of a series of strikes by Israel on Iran's nuclear sites, potentially pushing the Middle East to the brink of an all-out conflict, President Donald Trump told ABC News he thought the attacks had been "excellent" and suggested there was "more to come."
On Thursday, Israel hit dozens of sites inside Iran, saying the country had enriched enough fissile material for several nuclear bombs. Israel also targeted Iran's ballistic missile capabilities, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said could carry a nuclear payload.
"I think it's been excellent," Trump told ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent Jonathan Karl. "We gave them a chance and they didn't take it. They got hit hard, very hard. They got hit about as hard as you're going to get hit. And there's more to come, a lot more."
Trump met with his national security team in the Situation Room on Friday morning. A White House official also confirmed to ABC News that President Trump and Netanyahu spoke on Friday.
President Trump declined to comment to ABC News on whether the U.S. participated in Israel's attack on Iran in any way.
On Thursday night, the White House released a statement from Secretary of State Marco Rubio in which he said: "Israel took unilateral action against Iran. We are not involved in strikes against Iran and our top priority is protecting American forces in the region."
A U.S source familiar with the intelligence on the strike told ABC News the U.S. provided “exquisite” intelligence and will help defend Israel if needed -- especially against ballistic missiles which are expected to be launched from Iran.
Trump had told the Wall Street Journal on Friday that the U.S. knew what was going on and was aware of Israel's plans to attack.
Later Friday, Iran retaliated against Israel by firing ballistic missiles toward Tel Aviv. A U.S. official confirmed to ABC News that the U.S. was assisting in shooting down missiles targeting Israel.
Trump has been focused on securing a nuclear agreement with Iran and talks were set to take place in Oman on Sunday. Earlier Thursday, Trump said he believed the U.S. was "fairly close" to a deal and didn't want Israel "going in" fearing that strikes could "blow it."
It's unclear how the strikes from Israel, which a U.S. source said is expected to continue to be very intense over the next several days, will impact those efforts.
Trump's changed his tune from warning Israel not to strike to stating the escalation could drive Iran to the negotiating table.
“Two months ago I gave Iran a 60 day ultimatum to ‘make a deal.’ They should have done it! Today is day 61. I told them what to do, but they just couldn’t get there. Now they have, perhaps, a second chance!” Trump wrote on his conservative social media platform on Friday morning.
In another post earlier Friday, Trump warned Iran to agree to a deal "before there is nothing left."
"I gave Iran chance after chance to make a deal," Trump wrote. "I told them, in the strongest of words, to 'just do it,' but no matter how hard they tried, no matter how close they got, they just couldn’t get it done. I told them it would be much worse than anything they know, anticipated, or were told, that the United States makes the best and most lethal military equipment anywhere in the World, BY FAR, and that Israel has a lot of it, with much more to come - And they know how to use it."
Trump added, "Iran must make a deal, before there is nothing left, and save what was once known as the Iranian Empire. No more death, no more destruction, JUST DO IT, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE."
