Trump declared readiness to defend Israel and negotiate with Iran

US President Donald Trump in an interview with Fox News journalists stated that he knew in advance about Israel's plans to strike Iran, but emphasized that the United States was not involved in this operation.

Washington is waiting to see if Tehran will retaliate, the US Armed Forces Central Command (CENTCOM) is on high alert, he said. According to Trump, the US will defend itself and Israel if Iran takes retaliatory action.

"Iran cannot be allowed to get a nuclear bomb, and we hope for a return to the negotiating table. We'll see," Fox News journalist Jennifer Griffin quotes the president. Trump mentioned the deaths of several Iranian senior officials, she wrote (in particular, Tehran reported that the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Major General Hossein Salami, was killed).

Trump has spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu several times in recent days.