Trump Claims Iran's Gulf Strikes Were 'Surprise' Despite Intelligence Warnings

President Trump claimed on Monday that Iran's retaliatory strikes against US Gulf allies including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain and Kuwait came as a complete surprise, stating 'Nobody expected that. We were shocked.' However, multiple sources confirmed that pre-war intelligence assessments had explicitly warned Trump that such retaliation was among the potential outcomes of attacking Iran. US officials and intelligence sources stated that while not guaranteed, Iranian strikes on Gulf nations hosting US military bases were 'certainly on the list of potential outcomes.' Six foreign diplomats told Reuters it was widely anticipated that Tehran would target Gulf Arab states if the US or Israel attacked Iran. The false claim directly contradicts his own intelligence briefings and undermines public trust during an active military conflict.

"Nobody expected that. We were shocked." — Trump's public statement about Iranian retaliatory strikes on Gulf allies, contradicting intelligence warnings he had received