Trump: I May Have Forced Israel to Attack Iran

US President Donald Trump has acknowledged that he pressured Israel to carry out an attack on Iran. He disclosed this when asked whether Israel forced the US to strike Iran, saying, ‘No, actually, I may have forced them,’ at the White House during a visit by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, according to Al Jazeera, on Wednesday 4 March 2026. He said that the direction of negotiations mediated by Oman convinced him that Iran would attack the US, even though US intelligence itself had said there was no direct threat from Iran. On Monday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the US attacked Iran because it knew Israel would bomb the country. And because the Trump administration believed that Iran would then attack US facilities in the region. Trump Wants Iran to be Led by an ‘Insider’ Trump said someone from inside Iran would be better to lead after the US-Israel war. That would be better, he said, than Reza Pahlavi, son of the late Shah. ‘He (Pahlavi) seems like a very nice person. But in my view, someone from within might be better,’ he said. He also said that the worst-case scenario in his attack on Iran is a new leadership that is no different from the current leadership that is fighting the US. ‘I think the worst-case scenario is that we do this, and then someone takes over who is as bad as the previous one, isn’t it?’ he said. ‘That could happen. We don’t want that to happen,’ he added.