Donald Trump strongly denied that Israel pushed the US into war with Iran, saying that he actually ‘may have forced’ their hand, following fury from his MAGA base. 

During his first interaction with members of the press after the weekend operation, Trump was asked if Israel dragged the US into conflict.

‘No, I might have forced their hand,’ he stated to the contrary.

Trump’s comments appear to contradict what Secretary of State Marco Rubio said yesterday after briefing lawmakers on Operation Epic Fury.

‘We knew that there was going to be an Israeli action. We knew that that would precipitate an attack against American forces,’ Rubio said. ‘And we knew that if we didn’t preemptively go after them before they launched those attacks, we would suffer higher casualties.’ 

Trump continues to tout the operation as extremely successful as Americans overseas are faced with warnings from US officials amid attacks on overseas consulates. 

And the State Department announced Tuesday officials are securing military and charter flights to evacuate Americans stranded in the Middle East. 

The Iran war spiraled on Tuesday as the US and Israel launched a fresh bombing raid on the capital Tehran amid growing disquiet over Donald Trump’s shifting objectives. 

Iran retaliated by using drones to strike the US consulate in Dubai. Bystander videos emerged showing the structure ablaze on Tuesday. 

President Donald Trump said that he was the one who ‘forced Israel’s hand’ into striking Iran

US Navy handout photo shows guided-missile destroyer USS Thomas Hudner (DDG 116) firing a Tomahawk land attack missile in support of Operation Epic Fury on March 1, 2026

Smoke rises after Israeli strikes in Tehran, Iran on Tuesday, March 3, 2026

Multiple US embassies across the region were put on high alert after attacks on consulates in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. The State Department ordered the evacuation of non-emergency personnel and family in Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq, Qatar, Jordan and the UAE. 

The US also urged citizens to leave more than a dozen Middle Eastern countries, but with much of the airspace closed many remained stranded. A government source said more than a million Americans are believed to be in the region. 

A spokesperson at the State Department said that officials have been in contact with 3,000 Americans overseas who wish to leave the Middle East as the conflict devolves. 

Meanwhile, the most vocal members of Trump’s MAGA base erupted in fury over the perception that Israel is at fault for bringing the US into a war with Iran. 

Conservative pundit Matt Walsh wrote: ‘So [Rubio is] flat out telling us that we’re in a war with Iran because Israel forced our hand. This is basically the worst possible thing he could have said.’ 

But Trump responded Tuesday, saying that due to failing negotiations with Iran, he believed they would attack first, ‘and I didn’t want that to happen.’ 

‘You see, we were having negotiations with these lunatics, and it was my opinion that they were going to attack first,’ the president explained. ‘They were going to attack first, I felt strongly about that. So if anything, I might have forced Israel’s hand.’

Trump addressed the nation on two separate occasions over the weekend, outlining the mission to wipe out Iran’s leadership and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He encouraged regime change but did not propose a replacement leadership.

The President initially stated that the war would last four to five weeks, but he’s since said the US has the capabilities to engage for ‘far longer,’ if needed. 

He struck a more maximalist position than before, saying that ‘the big wave hasn’t even happened’ and swatting away Iran’s requests for peace talks. ‘Too late,’ he posted on Truth Social.

Vice President JD Vance said in an interview on Fox News on Monday night that the aim was to ensure ‘Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon’. He claimed that there is ‘just no way that Donald Trump is going to allow this country to get into a multiyear conflict with no clear end in sight and no clear objective.’

Further clouding the picture, a White House official told the Daily Mail on Tuesday that there were three aims: destroy the threat posed by Iran’s ballistic missiles, its missile industry, and its Navy. The official mentioned neither Iran’s nuclear facilities nor regime change.

The US and Israel launched a fresh bombing raid in Tehran on Tuesday. 

Israel warned civilians in Persian to evacuate the Hakimiya Industrial Zone and the area around Payam Airport in Karaj, where they were striking military targets. The announcement followed an overnight barrage the Israelis said had destroyed key government and security compounds in Tehran.

US Central Command handout photo shows an F-35C Lightning II, attached to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 314, staged for flight operations on the deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) in support of Operation Epic Fury on March 2, 2026

Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters on Capitol Hill the US knew Israel was preparing to strike and was worried it would allow Iran to cause more American casualties than if the US struck first

The US Embassy in Saudi Arabia sent out a security alert shortly after 8am EST warning of ‘imminent’ missile and drone attacks over the city of Dhahran, a major center for the oil industry and the headquarters of Aramco.

‘Do not come to the US Consulate. Take cover immediately in your residence on the lowest available floor and away from windows. Do not go outside,’ the warning stated.

The warning came after the Riyadh embassy was closed following an overnight two-drone attack that sparked a ‘limited fire,’ Saudi Arabia’s Defense Ministry said, with Americans urged to avoid the compound. 

It followed an attack on the US Embassy in Kuwait, which announced it had been closed until further notice. 

The backlash from top conservative pundits has amplified in recent days due to the unclear messaging from administration leadership about what prompted US involvement.

‘There is nothing unpatriotic or unsupportive of one’s conservatism or general adherence to MAGA-type principles to say, ‘I would like to be better convinced that this is worth the sacrifice of American blood and treasure,” pro-Trump media personality Megyn Kelly said on her show.

Tucker Carlson said: ‘This is Israel’s war. This is not the United States’ war.’

‘This war is not being waged on behalf of American national security objectives, to make the United States safer or richer… This war is waged purely because Israel wanted it to be waged,’ he added. 

Carlson made a stop in Israel last month for a sit-down interview with US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee. The former Fox host exclusively told the Daily Mail that he was detained in Tel Aviv by Israeli officials at the airport while trying to leave the country. 

Security forces deploy tear gas to disperse a mob outside the US Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq on March 2, 2026

Multiple US embassies in the Middle East were on high alert after attacks on consulates in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. The State Department ordered the evacuation of families and non-emergency personnel in Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq, Qatar, the USE and Jordan (pictured)

During his remarks to the media Tuesday, Trump also launched a fresh attack on Sir Keir Starmer.

‘This is not Winston Churchill we are dealing with.’ 

His fresh swipe comes as he continued to fume at the PM’s initial refusal to allow American bombers to use British bases to strike Iran. 

And the UK wasn’t the only European nation to get the cold shoulder on Tuesday.

Trump warned that if ally nations don’t get on board with the plan, he will retaliate. 

The president told reporters on Tuesday that he’s cutting off all trade with Spain after their government refused to let American forces use the bases in their country to strike Iran. 

‘Spain has absolutely nothing we need,’ the president said. ‘We’re gonna cut off all trade  with Spain. We don’t want anything to do with Spain.’

The day prior, Trump bragged at a Medal of Honor event at the White House that the military operation in Iran was already ahead of schedule.

It came after he told the Daily Mail in an exclusive call on Sunday that he expects the active conflict with Iran to go on for four weeks or less. He clarified that timeline on Monday, saying it could be between four and five weeks.

He touted the US military’s success on Tuesday as they worked with Israel to ‘knock out’ Iran’s military force.

‘They have no navy. It’s been knocked out. They have no air force. It’s been knocked out. They have no air detection, that’s been knocked out. Their radar has been knocked out. And just about everything’s been knocked out.’

This image provided by U.S. Central Command shows a F/A-18E Super Hornet launching from the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) in support of Operation Epic Fury on Monday

Operation Epic Fury began overnight on Saturday morning after Trump gave the green light. He monitored the military operation from his makeshift situation room in Mar-a-Lago. 

Dozens of Iranian leaders were left dead and Trump says that much of Iran’s military infrastructure and missile systems were taken out in the bombings. Six US service members have died so far, and Trump warns more might be killed in the conflict that he says could last four or five weeks.

Trump, however, believes that the conflict is a success so far.

‘We had a very very powerful impact because virtually everything they have has been knocked out now,’ he told reporters in the Oval Office during his bilateral meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Tuesday.

He added: ‘Their missile count is going way down.’

‘I’ve never had more compliments on something I did, people felt it’s something that had to be done,’ he boasted. ‘So if we have a little high oil prices for a little while, but as soon as this ends, those prices are going to drop, lower than even before.