Donald Trump's first reaction to Israel, Iran tensions: Ali Khamenei 'cannot have nuclear bomb'

US President Donald Trump said that Iran cannot have a nuclear bomb and that the United States was hoping to get back to the negotiating table. His statement came following large-scale airstrikes launched by Israel against Iran on June 13.

In a conversation with Fox News, Donald Trump said, “Iran cannot have a nuclear bomb and we are hoping to get back to the negotiating table. We will see. There are several people in leadership that will not be coming back.”

The US President reportedly said there are several people in leadership that will not be coming back — in a reference to some of the Iranian leaders who were killed by Israel on June 12-13 night.

Trump was reportedly aware of June 13 Israeli strikes in Iran beforehand. However, the US was “not involved militarily…," Fox News reported.

Iran's nuclear enrichment programme

US President Donald Trump had previously warned that Israel or America could launch airstrikes against Iranian nuclear facilities if negotiators failed to reach a deal on Iran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program.

A sixth round of Iran-US talks is scheduled to begin Sunday in Oman, and as tensions simmer some American government staffers deemed nonessential have begun leaving the Gulf region.

Israel attacks Iran

Israel attacked Iran's capital early Friday in strikes that targeted the country's nuclear programme and raised the potential for an all-out war between the two bitter Middle East adversaries.

It appeared to be the most significant attack Iran has faced since its 1980s war with Iraq, news agency AFP reported.

The leader of Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, Gen. Hossein Salami, was confirmed dead, Iranian state television reported.

According to the report, the Trump administration had cautioned Israel against an attack during continued negotiations over Iran's nuclear enrichment programme.

Israel is not a party to the US-Iran negotiations, and PM Netanyahu has said he’s hoping for a wholesale dismantling of Iran’s nuclear program in any deal.

Trump reportedly laid out the broad terms of an agreement and inspection program he’d support, which he described as “very strong, with inspections and no trust.”