U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday he urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to strike Iran’s energy infrastructure and received assurances it would not be targeted, while also ruling out deploying U.S. ground troops in the ongoing conflict.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said he directly warned Netanyahu against attacking Iranian energy facilities.
“I told him, ‘Don’t do that,’ and he won’t do that,” Trump said, indicating that Israel had agreed to avoid such targets.
His remarks came as the conflict with Iran entered its third week, following coordinated U.S. and Israeli missile and air strikes launched earlier.
Trump also dismissed the possibility of sending American ground forces to Iran.
“If I were, I certainly wouldn’t tell you. But I’m not putting troops,” he said during a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.
At the same time, Trump signaled that increased defense spending may be necessary as the conflict continues.
Asked about reports that the Pentagon is seeking $200 billion for the war effort, Trump said the United States would need additional funding “for a lot of reasons,” without confirming specific figures.
