Trump says he warned Netanyahu Israel could be left alone if it escalated Iran fight, claims US got last-minute notice of strikes

US President Donald Trump says that he warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the past day that Israel could find itself alone against Iran if it escalated the conflict further, while claiming Washington was informed only at the last minute about Israel’s overnight strikes against Iran and that he succeeded in limiting their scope.

In a phone conversation with Channel 12’s Barak Ravid, Trump says that he asked Netanyahu during a phone call last night that Israel not respond to Iran’s ballistic missile attacks.

“I said, ‘Bibi, you better be careful, or you will be on your own very soon,'” Trump said, according to a parallel report by Axios.

According to Channel 12, the conversation ended without a clear conclusion, but several of Trump’s aides who were on the call told Channel 12 they were given the impression that Trump had succeeded in buying a few more days without Israeli retaliation to support the US-Iran talks on a deal.

Following last night’s call, however, Netanyahu convened consultations with senior security officials, after which he informed US Secretary of State Marco Rubio that he had decided to carry out strikes in Iran, according to Channel 12.

Referring to Israel’s initial strikes against Iran last night, Trump tells the network that Israel updated Washington on the strikes very late, as the missiles were already on their way to Iran, while adding that he managed to scale back the scope of the attack.

Trump adds in the report that five regional countries involved in mediation efforts between the US and Iran had asked him to pressure Netanyahu to halt the strikes and move forward with an agreement.

“These countries were very concerned. They love the deal that we have been negotiating,” Trump says, according to Axios.

He says that this morning, Iranian officials contacted Washington and said they would not carry out any more attacks on Israel and requested that Israel stop attacking in return, after which Trump again called Netanyahu and persuaded him to agree to halt further strikes.

The president reiterates to Channel 12 that he believes an agreement with Iran remains within reach, that Tehran wants to sign one, and that such a deal would be beneficial. Trump told Fox News on Tuesday last week that he believed he had been only days away from finalizing an agreement with Iran before the fighting between Israel and Iran erupted.