Trump: White House was aware of Israel's plans to strike the Islamic Republic

The White House was informed of Israel’s strikes against the Iranian regime ahead of time but was not involved militarily, U.S. President Donald Trump told Fox News‘ Bret Baier on Friday.

Washington still hopes that Tehran will clinch a nuclear agreement with the United States, Trump told Baier.

“Iran cannot have a nuclear bomb and we are hoping to get back to the negotiating table. We will see,” Fox News cited the commander-in-chief as saying. “There are several people in leadership that will not be coming back,” he added.

U.S. officials were able to confirm that a number of top Iranian leaders were killed in the Israel Defense Forces strikes, according to the report.

The Trump administration reportedly reached out to “at least one key Middle Eastern ally” to acknowledge that the strikes were going to happen, while stressing the U.S. military was not involved.

Iran and the United States are set to resume nuclear talks in Muscat, Oman, on Sunday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry revealed earlier this week.

Around 200 Israeli Air Force jets attacked dozens of targets, including military and nuclear sites, in a “preemptive, precise, combined offensive” strike against Iran’s nuclear program early on Friday.

The IDF said the attack was based on “high-quality intelligence” and “in response to the Iranian regime’s ongoing aggression against Israel.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday morning said that the operation would “continue for as many days as it takes to remove this threat,” vowing to stop “the Iranian threat to Israel’s very survival.”