Israel may have just kicked off another war with the support of the United States empire. Washington was aware of West Jerusalem’s “preemptive” strike on Iran beforehand, but was not involved militarily, President Donald Trump said.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) earlier said it struck dozens of targets across Iran, including military installations and a nuclear enrichment facility in Natanz. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the operation aimed to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.

Many saw this coming when the news came out that the U.S. was evacuating personnel from the Middle East, fearing an attack on Iran.

U.S. Begins Evacuating Personnel From Middle East Amid Fears of Israeli Attack on Iran

Before the strikes (of which he knew about), Trump wrote on Truth Social that the US “remains committed to a Diplomatic Resolution to the Iran Nuclear Issue.”

“My entire Administration has been directed to negotiate with Iran. They could be a Great Country, but they first must completely give up hopes of obtaining a Nuclear Weapon,” he posted on Thursday night.

Trump told Fox News that this attack was not a surprise and didn’t come out of the blue. He said he had spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu multiple times in recent days and knew of the planned strikes in advance, adding that “there were no surprises.” He stressed, however, that “the US was not involved militarily” and expressed hope that Iran would return to negotiations.

Trump added that he is monitoring whether Iran will retaliate. The Iranian Army has said it will not tolerate Israeli “aggression” and warned that “a bitter lesson awaits Netanyahu.” Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei stated on Friday morning that Israel “should expect severe punishment” in retaliation for this strike. 

“CENTCOM is on high alert, the US will defend itself and Israel if Iran retaliates,” Trump said, according to Fox News.

The strike left at least five people dead and 20 more injured in Tehran, according to reports by Iranian media outlets.  The attack came just two days before the sixth round of US-Iran nuclear talks scheduled for Sunday in Oman.

According to a report by RT, Iranian media identified the victims as IRGC commander Hossein Salami, Deputy Chief of Army Staff Gholam Ali Rashid, and nuclear scientists Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi and Fereydoon Abbasi.

Is this the beginning of World War 3? What do you think? Let us know in the comments!