Former US President Donald Trump stated that he believes Israel should strike Iran's nuclear facilities and criticized President Joe Biden for opposing such strikes.
Speaking to voters in Fayetteville, North Carolina on Friday, Trump said, “I listened to Biden yesterday … they asked him, what do you think about Iran, would you hit Iran and he goes ‘as long as they don’t hit the nuclear stuff.' That's the thing you want to hit, right?"
“I think he’s got that one wrong, isn’t that the one you’re supposed to hit,” he added. “It’s the biggest risk we have, nuclear weapons.”
On Wednesday, Biden stated outright that he opposes an Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear facilities.
“The answer is no,” Biden said when questioned about the prospect of Israel launching a retaliatory strike on sites related to Iran’s nuclear weapons program.
On Friday, Biden said he would weigh "alternatives" to striking Iran's oil fields, a move which would devastate Iran's economy, if he were in Israel's place.
"If I were in their shoes, I'd be thinking about other alternatives than striking oilfields," Biden said.
On Tuesday, Iran launched over 180 ballistic missiles at Israel, several of which struck civilian and military infrastructure: Over 100 homes were damaged in Hod Hasharon alone, and at least two air bases sustained damage, though not enough to compromise functionality.
Israel has indicated that the response will be "significant," but has not given an indication of what that response may entail.