Doocy Provides Big Update on U.S.-Iran Conflict
Fox News White House Correspondent Peter Doocy pressed President Donald Trump over Iran’s retaliation against Gulf states following the launch of Operation Epic Fury, raising questions about whether U.S. officials anticipated Tehran’s decision to strike countries across the region.
“You were talking about Iran a couple of times today and what they did after Epic Fury began. You said they hit Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, and Kuwait. Nobody expected that. We were shocked. Are you surprised that nobody briefed you ahead of time that that might be their retaliation?” Doocy asked the president.
President Trump said the retaliation stunned even top experts, arguing that Iran’s broader goal was not simply to attack Israel but to dominate the Middle East.
“Nobody — nobody. No, no, no. No, the greatest experts — nobody thought they were going to hit. They were, I wouldn’t say friendly countries. They were, like, neutral. They were — they lived with them for years. Peter, they were going to take over the Middle East. They were going to knock out Israel with their nuclear weapons,” Trump began.
“But after we knocked out their nuclear potential, their nuclear potential weapon, they started building missiles, thousands and thousands of missiles, and they were going to do it with missiles while they developed,” Trump added.
The president then pointed to his decision to terminate the Obama-era Iran nuclear deal, arguing that the agreement would have left Israel and the broader Middle East in grave danger.
“You know, if I didn’t terminate Barack Hussein Obama’s Iran nuclear deal, you would right now — well, Israel would be gone,” the president argued.
“It would be incinerated, and probably the Middle East likewise. And remember, they have all of those missiles and I heard they were sending missiles to UAE. You know, UAE is like the banker for Iran. They’re, like, the banker. Qatar, their neighbors, they got along OK. Saudi Arabia — all of a sudden, Kuwait, Kuwait is getting hit. Bahrain is getting hit. All these countries are getting hit,” Trump added.
Trump described the U.S. response as devastating to Iran’s military capabilities, saying the operation damaged Tehran’s missile infrastructure, drone production, naval capacity, and leadership structure.
“We hit them so hard, like nobody’s ever been hit. We hit them very hard. And we’ve extinguished most of their missiles. We’ve extinguished most of their drones. We’ve extinguished most of the places where the missiles and the drones are built. We’ve fully extinguished two layers of leadership, and probably a third, if you believe some stories,” the president argued.
“We’ve taken out their entire navy, we’ve taken out every one of their — they call it a drone layer, a mine layer,” Trump said.
Trump concluded, “But they had 22 of them. We’ve taken out all of them. But you can probably — you can probably drop them off on the bus. So we don’t even know.”
The president’s comments reflect the administration’s view that Iran’s aggression was never confined to a single battlefield. From Israel to the Gulf states to global shipping routes, Tehran’s actions have strengthened the argument that a weak posture toward Iran only invites more chaos.
Rubio Says Talks Show “A Little Bit Of Movement,” But Warns Time Is Limited
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday that back-channel efforts to halt the U.S.-Israel war with Iran have shown “a little bit of movement,” though he warned that Washington will not leave the diplomatic window open indefinitely.
“The latest signs are encouraging, but I’m not popping champagne yet,” Rubio said Friday.
“I don’t want to exaggerate it, but there’s been a little bit of movement, and that’s good,” he said, while stressing he doesn’t “want to be overly optimistic.”
The administration is keeping diplomatic channels open while maintaining pressure on Tehran. Pakistan is also working behind the scenes to keep discussions alive, with Pakistan’s Army Chief Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, identified by security sources as a major intermediary between Washington and Tehran, heading to Tehran for consultations with Iranian officials.
Still, Rubio made clear that Iran’s effort to impose what it calls a “tolling system” in the Strait of Hormuz is a red line.
Rubio called the notion a nonstarter, saying it would make diplomacy difficult and would reach well beyond the region.
The Strait of Hormuz remains the key pressure point. The narrow waterway carries nearly a fifth of global oil exports, and any disruption threatens to shake energy markets, drive up costs, and place American allies under further pressure. Iran claims ownership over the strait and says it will only completely reopen it if it can charge commercial vessels to pass through.
For the Trump administration, the message is straightforward: diplomacy can continue, but Iran cannot be allowed to threaten regional allies, endanger global energy flows, or hold the world economy hostage.