Former President Donald Trump boasted that the Middle East is "very lucky" he served as president, following the United States and Israel launching a joint offensive against Iran. The commander in chief made these remarks at the Republican Issues Conference on Monday, asserting that the U.S. has "already won in many ways" in Iran but hasn't "won enough." A reporter later pressed Trump to clarify his definition of sufficient victory.
Trump's Definition of Victory in Iran
"What do you consider enough? What's your baseline?" the reporter inquired, prompting a lengthy and somewhat disjointed response from Trump. "Where they're not going to be starting the following day to develop a nuclear weapon," Trump began. "Where they'll look at that man and some other people from the administration and say, 'All right, we're not going to do it.' They were not willing to say that. And when Steve called up and he said that to me, I said, 'Well, here we go. Let's do it the hard way.'"
The president was likely referring to Steve Witkoff, the U.S. special envoy to the Middle East. "But the hard way, I think, is probably the easy way," Trump continued. "When basically I can see that they will no longer have any capacity whatsoever for a very long period of time of developing weaponry that could be used against the United States, Israel or any of our allies. We have great allies in the Middle East, great countries that are allies. And they were staying out of it until they got hit."
Operation Midnight Hammer and Military Strategy
Trump also claimed that if he hadn't "hit" Iran first, "they were going to hit our allies first" and that "they were going to take over the Middle East." "Now, had Operation Midnight Hammer not taken place? That was definite, because they would have had a nuclear weapon within a matter of weeks," he said. "But that took place. That was a setback. But look at the number of missiles they were able to buy and make over the last six months. And those missiles were aimed at various countries."
Operation Midnight Hammer was a U.S. military strike on June 22, 2025, that targeted Iranian nuclear facilities. Wrapping up his response, Trump appeared to disparage former President Joe Biden by claiming that the Middle East was "very lucky" that he's president, "instead of somebody else," amid the conflict with Iran.
Criticism and Backlash
"And when you look at a thousand — over a thousand missiles shot at, like, UAE — they were looking to take over the Middle East," he added. "We got there first. We're lucky. I'll tell you what, the Middle East and those countries, very rich countries, are very lucky that I was president instead of somebody else." Since the Trump administration and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, the deadly conflict has sparked widespread backlash, even from some of Trump's own supporters.
The remarks were delivered during a press conference at his Doral, Florida, resort on March 9, 2026, where Trump reiterated his stance on the necessity of military action. The ongoing tensions highlight the complex geopolitical dynamics in the region, with Trump positioning himself as a decisive leader in contrast to his predecessors.
