Trump says he might have 'forced Israel's hand' in Iran strike decision as critics question war powers

President Donald Trump on Tuesday insisted Israel did not pressure him to conduct joint military strikes on Iran, claiming that he believed Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei "was going to attack first."

Days after the regime leaders were killed and war erupted in Iran, Trump addressed the decision to conduct a joint U.S.-Israel attack on the country, explaining he "might have forced Israel's hand."

"I might have forced their hand," Trump said from the White House Oval Office on Tuesday. "You see, we were having negotiations with these lunatics, and it was my opinion that they were going to attack first. … If we didn't do it, they were going to attack first. I felt strongly about that. … So, if anything, I might have forced Israel's hand."

Although sources previously told Fox News the timeline of the attack was moved up to seize an opportunity to strike regime leaders in downtown Tehran, Trump said both the U.S. and Israel were ready.

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"We've had a very, very powerful impact because virtually everything they have has been knocked out," the president said. "Now, their missile count is going way down. Amazingly, they're hitting countries that were, let's call them neutral … I think they were surprised. I was surprised, I think. Now those countries are all fighting against them and fighting strongly against them."

Trump's comments came after Democrats criticized his decision to launch strikes with Israel in Iran without congressional approval.

Administration officials said they provided congressional notification to the "Gang of Eight," a bipartisan group of top congressional intelligence leaders, ahead of the strikes, but Congress did not hold a vote to approve them.

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The Trump administration has argued the U.S. was facing an "imminent threat," prompting military action.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. was not going to "sit there and absorb a blow" from Iran, while War Secretary Pete Hegseth said the operation was not a "so-called regime change war" or an open-ended conflict like that in Iraq.

Trump said he believes regardless of whether the U.S. took part in the strikes on Iran, Democrats would have been unhappy with his decision.

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"If I didn't do this, guys like [Senate Minority Leader Chuck] Schumer who — losers, the Democrats [are] losers — … would say, ‘well, you should have done this.’ In other words, if I did it, it's no good. If I didn't do it, they would have said the opposite, ‘that you should have done this.’"

He added he has "never had more compliments" on presidential action he has taken, noting "people felt that something had to be done."

"We [might] have a little high oil prices for a little while, but as soon as this ends, those prices are going to drop, I believe lower than even before," Trump said.

Fox News Digital's Emma Colton contributed to this report.