Trump claims US 'forced' Israel to strike Iran, says Tehran's air defences have been knocked out

Wed, 04 Mar 2026, 04:24 WIB | By Thalatie Kaprina Yani | Source: MEDIA_INDONESIA | Politics

President Donald Trump has insisted that Israel did not pressure the United States to launch air strikes against Iran over the weekend. Instead, he said Washington took the initiative to pre-empt a potential Iranian attack. ‘I think they [Iran] will strike first, and I do not want that to happen. So, if anything, I may have forced Israel’s hand,’ Trump told reporters. ‘We are negotiating with these crazy people, and in my view they will strike first.’

This statement comes amid escalating tensions after a major air strike that killed Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Trump said the strike had a very strong impact because it destroyed almost all of Iran’s military assets.

Trump’s claim appears to contradict statements by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Earlier on Monday Rubio said the US attacked Iran after understanding that Israel planned to strike first. However, Trump insisted that coordination between the US and Israel was aimed at hitting Iran at a far more precise point. Nevertheless, field reports show significant humanitarian impacts. One of the deadliest strikes so far hit a girls’ primary school in southern Iran, killing at least 168 people.

‘We hit them very hard,’ Trump said today. ‘They no longer have air defence. They no longer have any detection facilities. So they will feel a lot of pain. They are evil people.’

Regarding the future leadership of Iran after Khamenei’s death, Trump said that ‘the worst possible outcome’ would be if a new leader emerges with the same bad character as their predecessor. He also warned Iranians to refrain from protests for their own safety. ‘It is very dangerous out there, many bombs are being dropped,’ he added.

In the same remarks, Trump compared a potential leadership change in Iran with the US operation in Venezuela when Nicolas Maduro was captured. He praised the transition process in Venezuela, which he said kept the government intact. ‘We kept the government fully intact. We have Delcy [Rodriguez], who is very good… the relationship is great,’ he concluded. (The Guardian/AFP/Z-2)

The widow of Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was reported dead according to Mehr News Agency, amid escalating tensions between Iran, the US, and Israel.

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Muhammadiyah’s Central Leadership issued seven points of stance, noting one is to condemn the US strike on Iran.

Protests erupted across the United States following Ali Khamenei’s death. Demonstrators described Trump’s policies as tyrannical and argued that the US is being dragged into a perpetual war.

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The incident occurred in Bnei Brak, east of Tel Aviv, and in Rosh HaAyin, further east.

Iran’s President Pezeshkian said the government remains in operation despite the war intensifying in the country.

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