Iran’s massive aerial attack on Israel this weekend would not have happened if his administration had been in the White House, former president Donald Trump has said, as Israel warns the spike in hostilities is “not over yet.”
“God bless the people of Israel, they’re under attack right now,” the former president and likely Republican presidential nominee said during a rally in Schnecksville, Pennsylvania, on Saturday.
“The weakness that we’ve shown is unbelievable,” Trump said. “It would not have happened if we were in office.” He then posted clips of the rally and his comments to his Truth Social platform.
On Saturday, Iran launched a large-scale aerial attack on Israel, marking the first direct strike in years of rumbling tensions between the two countries. Tehran said the assault was in retaliation for a strike it has blamed on Israel against the Iranian consulate in the Syrian capital, Damascus, at the start of this month. It killed several members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Israel has not claimed nor denied responsibility.
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Tensions have skyrocketed in the region after six months of brutal war between Israel and Iran-backed Palestinian militant group Hamas, sparked by the October 7 attacks last year. Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari described Saturday’s barrage as a “major escalation.”
Tehran fired 170 explosive drones, upwards of 30 cruise missiles and more than 120 ballistic missiles towards Israel, said Hagari. The IDF said a “small number of hits were identified,” including “minor damage” to a military base in the south of the country.
Tehran said that it carried out “series of military strikes on Israeli’s military bases” as part of its “its inherent right of self-defense” against what it termed “Israel’s recurring military aggressions.”
U.S. Defense Secretary, Lloyd Austin, said on Saturday that U.S. forces in the Middle East had intercepted “dozens” of missiles and drones heading for Israel from Iran, Iraq, Syria and Yemen.
President Joe Biden said the U.S. military had moved aircraft and ballistic missile defense destroyers to the region over the past week, adding the U.S. “helped Israel take down nearly all of the incoming drones and missiles.”
“We condemn these reckless and unprecedented attacks by Iran and its proxies, and we call on Iran to immediately halt any further attacks, including from its proxy forces, and to de-escalate tensions,” Austin added in a statement.
“Overnight, the world saw the true face of Iran—a terrorist state that attacked Israel with hundreds of missiles and UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles),” Israel’s Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant, said in a post to X, formerly Twitter. “Israel, the U.S. and partners, thwarted this attack in a way that is unparalleled.”
“The campaign is not over yet and we are alert and strong,” Gallant added. Iran’s military said on Sunday that it had no further plans to launch strikes at Israel, according to remarks carried by the country’s IRNA state news agency.
United Nations Secretary General, António Guterres, said he was “deeply alarmed about the very real danger of a devastating region-wide escalation.”
“I urge all parties to exercise maximum restraint to avoid any action that could lead to major military confrontations on multiple fronts in the Middle East,” he said in a statement. “I have repeatedly stressed that neither the region nor the world can afford another war.”
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.