The Blubber

President Donald Trump, in a brief phone interview Friday morning, affirmed that the United States “of course” stands with Israel and praised its overnight strikes on Iran as “a very successful attack.” He also warned Iran that it should pursue a nuclear agreement without further delay.

Responding to remarks made by Secretary of State Marco Rubio the previous day—where Rubio emphasized the U.S. had not participated in the Israeli strikes—Trump dismissed any suggestion of distance between the allies. “We of course support Israel, obviously, and supported it like nobody has ever supported it,” Trump said.

He then urged Iran to come to the negotiating table. “Iran should have listened to me when I said — you know, I gave them, I don’t know if you know, but I gave them a 60-day warning and today is day 61,” Trump said. “They should now come to the table to make a deal before it’s too late. It will be too late for them. You know, the people I was dealing with are dead — the hardliners.” He did not clarify whom he was referencing.

While Trump struck a combative tone, Secretary Rubio reiterated Thursday that the United States had no role in the Israeli operation. “Tonight, Israel took unilateral action against Iran. We are not involved in strikes against Iran, and our top priority is protecting American forces in the region,” Rubio stated.

Trump is expected to speak with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu again on Friday, following multiple calls between the two leaders on Thursday, including one before Israel launched the operation, according to U.S. and Israeli officials. Though details of their discussions remain undisclosed, a source familiar with the conversations said Trump believes the strikes were triggered by Iran’s failure to meet a 60-day deadline to agree to a new nuclear deal.

Despite the tensions, White House officials maintain that Trump is committed to salvaging diplomatic negotiations. Special envoy Steve Witkoff is reportedly prepared to meet with Iranian representatives as early as Sunday in Oman or at another time if Iran agrees.

Earlier Friday, Trump warned Iran to make a deal “before there is nothing left,” signaling that any future Israeli responses would be “even more brutal.” In his first public statement since the strikes, he emphasized that Iran had missed its opportunity for diplomacy.

“I gave Iran chance after chance to make a deal. I told them, in the strongest of words, to ‘just do it,’ but no matter how hard they tried, no matter how close they got, they just couldn’t get it done,” he posted. “They didn’t know what was about to happen. They are all DEAD now, and it will only get worse.”