The Donald Trump administration claims that it is not participating in the Israeli strikes against Iran. At the same time, the US president threatens that if Tehran does not conclude a nuclear deal with the US, Iran could become The political line of the US government after the attack by Israel against Iran is clear: Washington is not involved.
Israel attacked Iran single-handedly, emphasizes US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, according to a White House press release. "We are not participating in attacks on Iran, and our top priority is to protect American troops in the region", Rubio said. "Israel has informed us that this move is necessary for their own defense. Let me be clear: Iran should not attack American interests or American personnel", Rubio warned.
The White House published the statement on social media about an hour after the start of the Israeli attacks on Iran. Earlier, on Thursday afternoon Washington time, the US State Department warned on the X platform that American citizens should be very cautious in view of the complicated security situation in the Middle East. It is known that the US was informed in advance of the attack. But were they really not actively involved in some way?
"Everything we know so far about the logistics, for example, about the drones hidden in Iran, suggests that Israel carried out the attack alone", said Sasha Lohmann, a US expert and member of the "America" research group at the Berlin-based "Science and Politics" Foundation, in an interview with DW. "But we cannot completely rule out the possibility that the US helped", he added.
For example, the fact that 200 Israeli military aircraft were flying to Iran and returning to Israel raises the question of whether the US military did not help, for example by refueling in the air, Lohmann points out.
Iran's nuclear program at the center of the attacks
The Israeli attacks early Friday morning, June 13, were mainly directed against military facilities and sites of the Iranian nuclear program, such as the one in Natan, where, among other things, uranium is enriched. In addition to leading figures in the Iranian military, several researchers working on Iran's nuclear program were also killed.
Since April 2025, Tehran and Washington have been negotiating an agreement to replace the Iran nuclear deal, from which the United States withdrew during Trump's first term in 2018.
Following Israeli attacks on Iranian nuclear infrastructure, US President Donald Trump has stated that Iran should not have a nuclear bomb, Fox News reported: "We hope to get back to the negotiating table. We'll see", the channel's reporter Bret Baier quoted Trump as saying.
Trump was even clearer on his social media platform Truth Social. He recalled that he had given Iran the opportunity to make a new nuclear deal and warned that if it did not happen, an attack would follow that would be "worse than they can imagine".
Trump also announced that "The United States produces the best and most deadly military equipment in the world, and Israel has a lot of it", Trump said. "And they [Israel] know how to use it."
The Iranian hardliners who spoke out against such a deal are now "all dead", Trump wrote in his post. "And it will only get worse!"
Continuation of negotiations unlikely
The Israeli attack on Iran came at a very inopportune moment for the US: Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff was negotiating with Tehran on a new nuclear deal. The next meeting between the US and Iranian delegations was scheduled for this weekend in Oman, but Tehran canceled it.
The question of how the negotiations will continue in the longer term is also in question. It is believed that among those killed in Iran is Ali Shamkhani, a close confidant and advisor to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. According to the magazine "Spiegel" Shamkhani played an important role in the nuclear negotiations between the US and Iran. He was said to be open to a deal, but also warned that if Iran felt threatened, Tehran could end cooperation with the international nuclear agency, the IAEA, and expel inspectors.
The commentator for the German public broadcaster ARD, Wolfgang Landmesser, considers this a serious setback for American diplomacy. Trump must realize that he has achieved nothing. However, we can hardly expect him to now sprinkle ashes on his head and express his disappointment, the German publication also points out.