What happened
President Donald Trump said during a CBS 60 Minutes interview that Israel would not exist today without his administration’s military intervention against Iran. He repeated a claim from a Truth Social post that Israel and the broader Middle East would not exist if he had not prevented Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
Speaking with CBS correspondent Ross Douthat, Trump defended the use of American military power against Iranian nuclear facilities. He said he was not seeking to escalate the conflict after the elections and insisted Iran’s nuclear capabilities had been effectively neutralized, describing remaining material as buried under thousands of tons of rock.
The discussion also covered the continued U.S. military presence in the Strait of Hormuz to protect commercial shipping. Trump said American forces could remain in the region indefinitely and dismissed concerns about deployment costs.
Trump then said countries benefiting from American military protection should repay the United States for all war costs. He specifically stated that Israel would not exist except for Donald Trump, citing B-2 bomber strikes more than a year ago against three Iranian sites.
According to the source report, the strikes were part of Operation Midnight Hammer in June 2025. The operation involved more than 125 American aircraft, including B-2 stealth bombers armed with bunker-busting weapons, and targeted Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. The report also said decoy bombers were deployed over the Pacific Ocean to confuse Iranian intelligence.
