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United States President Donald Trump has denied being dragged into war with Iran by Israel as he faces increasing criticism over the conflict, including from segments of his own base.<\/p>\n
\u201cIsrael never talked me into the war with Iran, the results of Oct. 7th, added to my lifelong opinion that IRAN CAN NEVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON, did,\u201d Trump wrote in a social media post on Monday.<\/p>\n list of 3 items<\/span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n There is no public evidence linking Iran directly to Hamas\u2019s October 7, 2023, attacks against Israel. Trump\u2019s own intelligence chief, Tulsi Gabbard, also testified to Congress in March that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon.<\/p>\n Over the eight months before the war on Iran, Trump had been saying repeatedly that the US air strikes on the country in June had \u201cobliterated\u201d its nuclear programme.<\/p>\n Many of Trump\u2019s critics have argued that Iran did not pose an imminent threat to the US and the war only advances the interests of Israel at the expense of the safety and prosperity of Americans.<\/p>\n Iran responded to the initial US-Israeli strikes of the war \u2013 which killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, other top officials and hundreds of civilians on February 28 \u2013 by blocking the Strait of Hormuz, sending oil prices soaring.<\/p>\n In the US, energy costs have skyrocketed, fuelling inflation. The price of 1 gallon (3.8 litres) of petrol has remained more than $4, up from less than $3 before the war, more than a week after a ceasefire between Washington and Tehran came into effect.<\/p>\nRecommended Stories <\/h2>\n