For the Trump administration’s warnings of an imminent threat from Iran, it took an afternoon. The administration has been understandably prickly about the accusation that Netanyahu lobbied Trump into this latest war. (His press secretary Karoline Leavitt retweeted an article with the helpful headline: No, Marco Rubio Didn’t Claim That Israel Dragged Trump into War with Iran). “We were having negotiations with these lunatics, and it was my opinion that they [Iran] were going to attack first.”1:35 'They were going to attack first': Trump gives update on Iran – videoSince Trump began mustering his “armada” in the Middle East in the largest buildup since the Iraq war, the administration has run through a number of justifications for the attack on Iran. Most recently, it was the warning that Iran was planning for an imminent strike, which Trump said was not linked to the negotiations at all.

Source: The Guardian March 04, 2026 01:55 UTC