President Donald Trump declared Friday that Israel and the rest of the Middle East would not be standing today if he had not stopped Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
In a Truth Social post, Trump wrote that Israel, “and, in fact, the entire Middle East, WOULD NOT EXIST TODAY” without his actions against Tehran. He added that nobody wants to say it, but everybody knows it is true.
The post came days after Republicans suffered heavy losses in Tuesday’s midterm elections, with Democrats taking control of both chambers of Congress. The economy, a topic on which Trump had previously outpolled Democrats, became a liability after the start of the Iran war drove up gas prices, and Democratic candidates hammered the GOP on affordability.
It is not the first time Trump has made the argument. He previously told “Fox & Friends” that Israel would not exist today if he were not president, and he said in June that an Iranian nuclear weapon would have meant no Israel and no Middle East. At the G7 summit in France earlier this year, he said there would be no Israel without him while pressing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over Israeli strikes in Lebanon.
The United States launched the war against Iran alongside Israel on Feb. 28. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed on the first day of strikes.
Trump has acknowledged the war weighed on Republicans at the polls, but he has maintained his support for the offensive and said he would do it again.
The administration is now weighing whether to resume military action. Senior officials said Trump met with his national security team Wednesday and Thursday to discuss renewed strikes, and he told reporters Thursday that the U.S. would make a decision. He said he would rather not destroy the rest of the country but may have to, adding that the U.S. is “locked and loaded” if needed.
At the same time, the White House is reviewing a new Iranian proposal on the future of the regime’s nuclear program. Tehran has said further talks hinge on Washington meeting seven demands, including compensation for war damages, an end to sanctions and the U.S. naval blockade, and the release of frozen assets.
Trump also used a video posted on X to urge Congress to pass a reconciliation bill with at least $350 billion for the military and the defense industrial base, vowing his administration will keep Iran from getting a nuclear weapon. Senate Republican sources, however, have acknowledged that plan now looks unlikely after the GOP’s midterm drubbing.
Friday’s post also follows Trump’s announcement that the U.S. will end its roughly $4 billion in annual military aid to Israel by the end of 2026. Washington has provided Israel about $3.8 billion a year under a 10-year agreement that began in 2018, and Trump has said the aid is ending because Israel no longer needs it.
The president’s comments signal he has no intention of backing away from his Iran policy, even as members of his own party, including Vice President JD Vance, have pointed to the war as a key reason for Tuesday’s losses.
