President Donald Trump was reportedly briefed on the possibility of Iran retaliating against other nations in the Middle East — despite his claims that the response was unexpected.
Trump was warned Iran could retaliate against Gulf allies, Reuters reported, citing a U.S. official and two sources familiar with the issue. These pre-conflict intelligence reports did not say the response was “a guarantee,” but rather that it was “on the list of potential outcomes,” a source told the outlet.
This comes after Trump repeatedly claimed that “nobody” expected the retaliatory strikes.
“They weren’t supposed to go after all these other countries in the Middle East,” he said Monday at a Kennedy Center board meeting. “Those missiles were set to go after them. So, they hit Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait. Nobody expected that. We were shocked.”
Later Monday, when asked whether he was briefed on the possibility, Trump replied: "Nobody, nobody, no, no, no. The greatest experts, nobody thought they were going to hit.”
The Independent has contacted the White House for comment.
This comes after Reuters reported late last month that Trump was told the military operation against Iran would be high-risk, high-reward. He received briefings that outlined the risk of U.S. casualties and highlighted the possibility of a geopolitical shift that could favor U.S. interests, an official told the outlet.
At least 13 U.S. service members have been killed and 200 have been wounded since the Iran conflict began.
Recent polling has shown Americans are divided on the conflict, which is now in its third week.
A Washington Post survey released Thursday found 42 percent of Americans support the military campaign against Iran, while 40 percent oppose it and 17 percent are unsure. Still, about 42 percent of Americans believe the strikes should end, while 34 percent want them to continue, the poll found.
Trump also claimed Monday that he spoke with a former president who said he approved of the war with Iran. However, representatives of all four living ex-presidents have denied the story to multiple media outlets.
"I’ve spoken to a certain president, who I like, actually," he said. "A past president, a former president. He said, 'I wish I did it.' But they didn't do it. I'm doing it."
Trump declined to identify the former president: "I can’t tell you that. I don’t want to embarrass him. It would be very bad for his career, even though he’s got no career."
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