He said the Israeli raid that killed the US president, Iranian generals and scientists was “a great day for Israel”.
Published November 6, 2025
US President Donald Trump claimed responsibility for Israel’s first attack on Iran, contrary to previous US claims that the Israeli government acted unilaterally.
“Israel attacked first. That attack was very powerful. I was responsible for that,” Trump told reporters Thursday.
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“When Israel first attacked Iran, it was a great day for Israel because that attack did more damage than all the other countries combined.”
His comments came amid calls for Republicans to eliminate the filibuster that allows legislation to pass with a simple majority in the Senate. He argued that the party should first act under the rules of the Senate, just as Israel started its war against Iran.
Israel launched a devastating attack on Iran without direct provocation on June 13, killing several senior generals and nuclear scientists as well as many civilians.
Iran fired back with hundreds of missiles against Israel.
The United States then joined Israel’s war effort by bombing Iran’s three main nuclear facilities.
However, in the early stages of the war, Washington stressed that Israel had acted independently and warned Tehran not to retaliate against US forces or interests in the region.
At the time, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said: “Tonight, Israel took unilateral action against Iran. We are not involved in any attack against Iran, and our first priority is to protect US forces in the region.”
The ceasefire came after Iran launched a missile attack on a US air base in Qatar.
Since then, President Trump has increasingly taken credit for the war’s outcome, repeatedly claiming that the United States had “completely obliterated” Iran’s nuclear program.
But on Thursday, the US president suggested he may have started the war in the first place.
For its part, Iran has not provided a public assessment of the status of its nuclear facilities, but Iranian officials have stressed that the country’s nuclear program remains viable because of the knowledge it has acquired over the years.
It is also unclear what happened to Iran’s highly enriched uranium stockpile.
Trump opposed starting new wars and promoted himself as a “peace” candidate.
During the war, he faced pressure from some of his own bases to keep the United States out of the conflict.
President Trump has repeatedly said in recent weeks that he wants to reach a deal that formalizes relations with Iran and Israel.
In the early months of his second term, President Trump began negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program and repeatedly emphasized that he wanted a deal with Iran.
But with the nuclear file apparently dormant, analysts say there is no sense of urgency in Washington to restart talks with Tehran.
Iranians have also expressed skepticism about Washington’s diplomatic overtures. U.S. and Iranian officials were scheduled to meet for a series of talks in June, days before Israeli warplanes struck Tehran.
