Denying that he was drawn into the war by Netanyahu, Trump maintains that it was rather he who forced Israel's hand.

Donald Trump is keen to appear more belligerent than Benjamin Netanyahu. While denying that he had been drawn into the war by the Israeli Prime Minister, the American president boasted on Tuesday that the United States had "almost destroyed everything" in Iran, citing the navy, the air force and the air detection systems of the Islamic Republic.

Speaking alongside German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, the first foreign leader received at the White House since the start of the war with Iran, the Republican leader indicated that Tehran would otherwise have attacked "first" and that it had "perhaps forced Israel's hand" to launch the military operation.

Trump contradicts Rubio

In remarks on Monday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had suggested that the United States had gone to war at Israel's instigation. "Given the way the negotiations were going, I think they (Iran) were going to attack first. And I didn't want that to happen. So maybe I forced Israel's hand. But Israel was ready. And we were ready," the US president clarified in the Oval Office.

When asked who might lead Iran after the war, Donald Trump also stated that most of the Iranian officials Washington had in mind were dead. "And now we have another group (of leaders). They may be dead too […] Soon we won't know anyone," he added.

Merz is worried about the global economy

According to the US president, the "worst-case scenario" for Iran would be the arrival of an official "as bad" as Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Iranian supreme leader killed in strikes on Saturday, the first day of the conflict. "We don't want that to happen," he said, reiterating that the Islamic Republic of Iran represented "evil incarnate."

The German Chancellor, for his part, expressed hope that the war would end as quickly as possible, as it was damaging the international economy. "It is obvious that this is harming our economies. This is true for oil prices, and it is also true for gas prices," said Friedrich Merz.

The war in the Middle East, a key region for hydrocarbons, has triggered a global energy shock, largely due to the disruption of shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway for oil trade. Donald Trump subsequently wrote on his Truth Social network that the US Navy could, "if necessary," escort oil tankers through this strait located between Iran and Oman.