US President Donald Trump on Wednesday suggested that Israel sent agents to Iran’s Fordo nuclear site after US struck it earlier this week, insisting the attack was a success and warning that he was willing to strike again if Iran tried to revive its enrichment program.
“You know they have guys that go in there after the hit, and they said it was total obliteration,” Trump told reporters at the NATO summit in The Hague, speaking about the bombing of Fordo.
“Israel is doing a report on it now, I understand, and I was told that they said it was total obliteration. I believe it was total obliteration, and I believe they didn’t have a chance to get anything out because we acted fast.”
A leaked US intelligence report suggested this week that the strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities did not destroy their underground components, and that much of Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium may already have been spirited out of the sites before they were bombed. The White House has rejected the report’s findings, while condemning the leak.
Israeli officials told the Kan public broadcaster Wednesday, responding to Trump’s comments, that they were unaware of any Israeli operation at the Fordo nuclear facility after the strike.
Asked by a reporter Sunday if the US would carry out more attacks if Tehran were to rebuild its uranium enrichment facilities, Trump said: “Sure.”
“The last thing they want to do is enrich anything right now,” he added. “They want to recover. They’re not going to have a bomb and they’re not going to enrich.”
“I think we’ll end up having somewhat of a relationship with Iran,” he said.
Trump also applauded the ceasefire that has stopped the fighting so far, and said another could be on the way in Gaza.
The Israel-Iran truce was “a very equal agreement,” he said. “They both said, ‘That’s enough.’”
“We had a tremendous victory, a tremendous hit,” said Trump. “Israel got hit very hard, especially the last couple of days. Israel was hit really hard. Those ballistic missiles, boy they took out a lot of buildings.”
“And they’ve been great,” he said, “Bibi Netanyahu should be very proud of himself.”
After blasting Israel Tuesday for striking Iran in response to missile fire after the ceasefire was announced, Trump praised Israel for scaling back its planned attack.
“I was so proud of them,” he said. “It was a great thing.”
Trump added that “technically they were right,” referring to Israel’s claims that Iran had violated the ceasefire by firing missiles after the 7 a.m. start of the truce. “It was a little bit of a violation.”
Israel and Iran entered open conflict on June 13 when Israel launched airstrikes targeting Iran’s top military leaders, nuclear scientists, uranium enrichment sites and ballistic missile program. Israel said the campaign was necessary to prevent the Islamic Republic from realizing its declared plan to destroy the Jewish state. On June 22, the US struck key Iranian nuclear facilities at Natanz, Fordo, and Isfahan.
Iran retaliated for Israel’s attacks by launching over 550 ballistic missiles and around 1,000 drones at Israel. Iran’s missile attacks killed 28 people and wounded thousands in Israel, according to health officials and hospitals. Missiles hit apartment buildings, two universities, and a hospital, causing heavy damage. Iran also fired at a US base in Qatar after the American strikes.
Trump also said Wednesday that there is “great progress” on reaching a ceasefire deal in the Gaza Strip.
“I think that because of this attack that we made [in Iran]. I think we’re going to have some very good news… Gaza is very close,” he asserted.
Israel has been at war with the Hamas terror group in the Strip since October 7, 2023, when thousands of terrorists invaded southern Israel from Gaza, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. Terror groups in Gaza still hold 50 hostages, of whom at least 20 are believed to be alive.
After the announcement of the Israel-Iran ceasefire, voices in Israel and abroad called for a renewed focus on Gaza and a deal to return the hostages and end the war.
Qatar’s prime minister — whose country, a major Hamas benefactor, has been a key mediator in talks to free the hostages — said that he hopes indirect discussions will be held in the coming days between Israel and Hamas as part of a renewed push to reach a hostage-ceasefire deal.
“Regarding the Gaza talks, discussions are ongoing with both the Israeli side and Hamas in an effort to reach an agreement based on the American draft,” said Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, without giving details on what the proposal involves.
Israel has insisted on pursuing a deal based on the so-called “Witkoff model,” named after Trump’s Mideast envoy. The model calls for a partial deal in which about half of the living hostages and about half of the dead hostages would be returned in exchange for a temporary ceasefire and the release of many Palestinian security prisoners.
Hamas has insisted that any deal include a permanent end to the war, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has refused any arrangement that would leave the terror group in power as the Strip’s de facto government, though it has not suggested any alternative regime. A majority of Israelis, according to polls, support a deal to return all the hostages even if it means ending the war.
Nurit Yohanan contributed to this report.