‘Israel never talked me into the war with Iran,’ Trump says

US president suggests attacking Iran was his own decision as war struggles to garner public support amid energy crisis.United States President Donald Trump has denied being dragged into war with Iran by Israel as he faces increasing criticism over the conflict, including from segments of his own base.“Israel never talked me into the war with Iran, the results of Oct. 7th, added to my lifelong opinion that Iran CAN NEVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON, did,” Trump wrote in a social media post on Monday.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Second round in Islamabad: Who are the main US-Iran negotiators?list 2 of 3Iraq’s ruling Shia bloc races to choose PM as US, Iran watchlist 3 of 3Cloud over US-Iran talks: What are the key sticking points?end of listThere is no public evidence linking Iran directly to Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attacks against Israel. Trump’s own intelligence chief, Tulsi Gabbard, also testified to Congress in March that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon.Over the eight months before the war on Iran, Trump had been saying repeatedly that the US air strikes on the country in June had “obliterated” its nuclear programme.Many of Trump’s critics have argued that Iran did not pose an imminent threat to the US and the war only advances the interests of Israel at the expense of the safety and prosperity of Americans.Iran responded to the initial US-Israeli strikes of the war – which killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, other top officials and hundreds of civilians on February 28 – by blocking the Strait of Hormuz, sending oil prices soaring.In the US, energy costs have skyrocketed, fuelling inflation. The price of 1 gallon (3.8 litres) of petrol has remained more than $4, up from less than $3 before the war, more than a week after a ceasefire between Washington and Tehran came into effect.A recent poll by NBC News suggested that two-thirds of Americans disapprove of Trump’s handling of the war.With dissatisfaction growing, many of the president’s critics have pointed to Israel as the real power behind the war, portraying Trump as a weak leader following Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.