Trump: U.S. 'knew everything' about Israel strikes on Iran

President Donald Trump has confirmed that the United States was aware of Israeli plans to strike Iran ahead of time and insisted that he had hoped to spare Iran the humiliation of a military defeat.

"I tried to save them very hard because I would have loved to have seen a deal worked out. They can still work out a deal however, it’s not too late," he told Reuters. He further stated that he "knew everything" beforehand.

Prior to the attacks, Trump had insisted he opposed a military strike on Iran and remained committed to a diplomatic solution to the nuclear issue.

Israeli officials claimed to Axios on Friday that the Trump administration was only pretending to pursue a diplomatic option to lure Iran into a false sense of security.