US President Donald Trump has claimed that Israel would not exist today without him, arguing that his decision to withdraw Washington from the Iran nuclear deal helped protect the country from a growing
threat.
Speaking in an interview with the New York Post, Trump rejected claims that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had pushed him into war with Iran, which began after joint US-Israeli strikes on Tehran and has now continued for more than three months.
Trump:
If there wasn’t me, there would be no Israel right now.
Do you agree? pic.twitter.com/2uT3P1xdQW— Mossad Commentary (@MOSSADil) June 3, 2026
“I started it because we can’t let them have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said, adding that Israel would likely have been the first target if Iran had acquired such capabilities.
“There would be no Israel. If there wasn’t me, there would be no Israel right now, and it started off when I terminated the horrible Barack Hussein Obama nuclear deal,” Trump said.
During his first term in office, Trump withdrew the US from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal, in 2018. The agreement, signed in 2015 between Iran and major world powers under then-President Barack Obama, placed restrictions on Tehran’s nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief. Trump had argued that the deal was flawed, saying it did not do enough to stop Iran from eventually developing nuclear weapons and failed to address the country’s regional activities.
Additionally, Trump’s latest remarks come amid renewed escalations in the Gulf as Iran and the US have exchanged attacks on Wednesday, marking a significant escalation after weeks of relative calm following an April 8 fragile ceasefire.
