Iran’s top national security official accused President Donald Trump on Sunday of abandoning an “America First” agenda in favor of what he called an “Israel First” strategy, blaming the White House for plunging the region into deeper chaos as Operation Epic Fury intensifies.
Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, wrote on X that Trump’s “delusional fantasies” have increased the risk of American casualties while advancing Israeli interests.
“With his delusional actions, he turned his self-made ‘America First’ slogan into ‘Israel First’ and sacrificed American soldiers for Israel’s power-hungry ambitions,” Larijani said, referring to the U.S.-Israeli campaign against Iran. He added that Iran is acting in self-defense against what he described as American and Israeli aggression.
Larijani also denied reports that Tehran had sought renewed nuclear negotiations with Washington through Omani mediators, rejecting a Wall Street Journal claim that he had reached out about reviving talks.
A White House official told Fox News Digital that Trump’s opposition to Iran’s nuclear ambitions has been consistent for years.
“The President’s first instinct is always diplomacy, and his representatives worked extensively, and in good faith, to make a deal that would ensure Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities posed no threat to our homeland,” the official said. “Unfortunately, the Iranian regime refused to engage realistically with the United States.”
Iran’s retaliatory strikes have targeted U.S. military facilities and allied positions in Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, as well as Israeli territory.
“He is rightly worried about more American casualties,” Larijani added. “It is indeed very sad that he is sacrificing American treasure and blood to advance Netanyahu’s illegitimate expansionist ambitions.”
Meanwhile, Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, confirmed that additional U.S. forces are being deployed to the Middle East as fighting escalates.
“I don’t want to talk specifics, because that would tip the enemy off,” Caine told reporters at the Pentagon. “We have more tactical aviation flowing into theater just based on the time it took to get it out there.”
The exchange underscores how rapidly the conflict has expanded beyond Iran and Israel, with both sides framing the war not only as a military struggle but as a battle over regional power and political legitimacy.
