President Donald Trump has issued a stark warning to Iran, urging the country to accept a nuclear deal to avoid further “planned attacks,” citing that “there has already been great death and destruction, but there is still time to make this slaughter… come to an end.”
Trump spoke out via his social media platform, Truth Social, on Friday morning, reacting to the news that Israel had launched an overnight attack on Iran, targeting multiple nuclear and military sites.
Referencing the ongoing negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program, Trump said that he had given Iran a chance to make a deal.
“I told them, in the strongest of words, to ‘just do it,’ but no matter how hard they tried, no matter how close they got, they just couldn’t get it done,” Trump said. “Certain Iranian hardliners spoke bravely, but they didn’t know what was about to happen. They are all DEAD now, and it will only get worse.”
Trump added that Iran was told how “the United States makes the best and most lethal military equipment anywhere in the World, BY FAR, and that Israel has a lot of it, with much more to come. And they know how to use it.”
“Iran must make a deal, before there is nothing left, and save what was once known as the Iranian Empire. No more death, no more destruction, JUST DO IT, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.” Trump warned.
Read More: Iran Vows ‘Painful’ Response After Israeli Attack: What to Know
The U.S. was decidedly not involved in the overnight military action, as confirmed by a statement from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in which he urged Iran not to target the U.S.
“Tonight, Israel took unilateral action against Iran. We are not involved in strikes against Iran and our top priority is protecting American forces in the region. Israel advised us that they believe this action was necessary for its self-defense,” said Marco, in a statement shared by the White House shortly after the initial strikes. “President Trump and the Administration have taken all necessary steps to protect our forces and remain in close contact with our regional partners. Let me be clear: Iran should not target U.S. interests or personnel.”
A number of senior military officials and nuclear scientists have been killed by the Israeli strikes on Iran, with Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowing retaliation, saying that Israel “should anticipate a severe punishment” and “has prepared for itself a bitter, painful fate, which it will definitely see.”
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) announced the “preemptive, precise offensive” in a statement in the early hours of Friday morning, local time.
“Iran is closer than ever to obtaining a nuclear weapon. Weapons of mass destruction in the hands of the Iranian regime are an existential threat to the State of Israel and to the wider world,” the statement read. “The State of Israel has no choice but to fulfill the obligation to act in defense of its citizens.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the strikes, part of Operation Rising Lion, “will continue for as many days as it takes to remove this threat.”
Read More: Here Are the Top Iranian Generals and Scientists Targeted and Killed by Israeli Strikes
Iran has since responded with around 100 drone strikes on Israel, with Jordan confirming that drones also entered its airspace.
Prior to this, talks between the U.S. and Israel had appeared to be heading in a more positive direction after Ali Shamkhani—senior adviser to Ayatollah Khamenei—said in May that Iran was willing to accept a deal subject to conditions.
Talks were still ongoing as of early June. Iran rejected a U.S. proposal and offered a counter-offer on June 9. The following day, Iranian lawmakers accused the U.S. of turning negotiation talks into a trap.
“The U.S. is not serious in negotiations at all. It has set the goal of talks as imposing its demands and has adopted offensive positions that are diametrically opposed to Iranians’ inalienable rights,” Iranian lawmakers said in a statement.