Trump warns he could leave Israel “alone against Iran”

US President Donald Trump has stated that he had cautioned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about turning the ongoing exchange of fire with Iran into a broader war.

In an interview with Israel’s Channel 12, he said: “I told Bibi, you'd better be careful what you do, because you could be left alone against Iran very soon," Caliber.Az reports, citing The Jerusalem Post.

Trump had earlier urged Netanyahu not to respond to Iran’s recent missile strike on Israel with an attack.

The discussion reportedly ended without a firm understanding, and Netanyahu did not inform Trump of his final decision.

Later, Netanyahu met with senior defence officials and subsequently notified US Secretary of State Marco Rubio that he had opted to proceed with an operation against Iran.

Trump told Channel 12 that “the Israelis gave us an update at a very late stage. They were already on their way to Iran.”

“I was able to reduce the scale of the attack,” the US president said.

Trump also stated in the interview that five regional countries, which are also engaged in mediation between Washington and Tehran, urged him to press Netanyahu to halt the strikes and advance toward a peace settlement.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov