President Donald Trump on Friday warned Iran that future Israeli military strikes will be "even more brutal" unless Tehran agrees to a nuclear deal, following a devastating Israeli attack that killed senior Iranian military leaders and struck sensitive nuclear infrastructure.
"There has already been great death and destruction, but there is still time to make this slaughter, with the next already planned attacks being even more brutal, come to an end," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "Iran must make a deal, before there is nothing left."
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed that more than 200 fighter jets struck over 100 Iranian targets overnight, dropping 330 munitions in what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called a "targeted military operation" that would continue "for as many days as it takes to remove this threat."
Among the dead were General Hossein Salami, commander-in-chief of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and Major General Mohammad Bagheri, Iran's top military official and IRGC chief of staff. The IDF said the men were killed along with most of the IRGC air force command in a fortified underground bunker near the Natanz nuclear facility.
Netanyahu later confirmed that Natanz, a key nuclear enrichment site, was among the targets.
Tehran responded by launching more than 100 drones toward Israel on Friday morning, which the Israeli military said were intercepted. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed Israel would face "severe punishment," and military analysts warned of a dangerous cycle of retaliation.
President Trump, who said earlier in the week that a premature strike could "blow" ongoing nuclear talks, now claims Israeli action may help force Tehran's hand. "Certain Iranian hardliner's spoke bravely, but they didn't know what was about to happen. They are all DEAD now, and it will only get worse!" Trump posted.
The next round of U.S.-Iran nuclear talks, the sixth in a stalled series, was scheduled for Sunday in Muscat, Oman. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff has been in contact with Omani officials to preserve the diplomatic channel, though officials acknowledge that the prospects for holding the meeting are slim.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio attempted to draw a clear line between U.S. and Israeli operations. "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," Rubio said.
Still, Trump did not rule out further escalation. Speaking earlier Thursday, he said a Middle East conflict "could very well happen," adding: "I don't want to say imminent, but it's something that could very well happen."
He confirmed that U.S. embassies across the Middle East had begun emergency evacuation procedures for non-essential personnel. "We have a lot of American people in this area, and I said, look, we gotta tell them to get out cause something could happen - soon," Trump said.
Despite the intensifying conflict, Trump said his administration remains "committed to a Diplomatic Resolution to the Iran Nuclear Issue!" He reiterated that while the U.S. prefers diplomacy, the Iranian regime must act swiftly. "I gave Iran chance after 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 wrote.
