Former President Donald Trump says Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should “do what he wants to do” with regards to a potential retaliatory strike against Iran.
“Well, I think [Netanyahu is] going to do what he wants to do. And I think he has to do that,” Trump told Saudi state-owned news outlet Al Arabiya in an interview that aired Sunday, when asked if he’d support Israeli airstrikes inside the Islamic Republic in response to Iran’s Oct. 1 missile barrage on Israel.
Trump, 78, went on to slam President Biden’s “horrible” record on foreign policy and urged Netanyahu, 75, to “do the opposite” of whatever the 81-year-old commander in chief suggests.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reportedly weighing a retaliatory strike against Iran. Getty Images
“Biden was giving him some very bad – look, Biden has been historically horrible on foreign policy. Incompetent,” the Republican nominee for president said in the interview.
“I would say what you do is anything [Biden] says, do the opposite, and you’ll be brilliant,” Trump said. “But [Biden] gave [Bibi] instructions not to do anything, and Israel is under great danger.”
Leaked classified US intelligence documents suggest that Israel is indeed preparing for a retaliatory strike against Tehran.
The documents, which appeared on the Internet on Friday and were dated from Oct. 15-16, purport to show Israel shifting munitions around and the Israeli Air Force undertaking significant military exercises in preparation for an assault.
The US government is investigating the leak.
When the Al Arabiya reporter noted that some people believe Trump is “the only person” who can end the conflict in the Middle East – because of his close relationship with the Israeli prime minister – the former president agreed.
“I think you’re right,” Trump responded. “He does listen to me.
“I want to see it all stop,” he said of the war. “I want to see the Middle East get back to peace. A real peace that’s going to be a lasting peace. And that’s going to happen.”
Donald Trump says he could stop the war in the Middle East if elected president again because Netanyahu “does listen to me.” Katie Goodale/USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
The 45th president refused to say how he would go about preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon but noted that he has “respect for Iran” and the Iranian people and knows them to be “great negotiators” – suggesting that it would be in the regime’s best interest to strike a deal.
“In its own way it’s probably in danger, maybe more so than they would have thought a month ago,” Trump said of Iran, adding, “I don’t want to see people killed. Everyone’s being killed in the Middle East. I don’t want to see that.”
Iran launched about 180 ballistic missiles toward Israel earlier this month in retaliation for the deadly Israeli strike against Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh.
The volley marked the second direct strike against the Jewish state from Iran since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attack on Israel.
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