President Donald Trump was left dumbstruck following the Iranian strikes on a U.S. military base in Jordan last month, Fox News’ Trey Yingst revealed on Sunday, citing a phone call he had with the president the day after the attack.
The new details come as the Trump administration scrambles to secure an end to the deeply unpopular U.S. war against Iran, with Trump revealing Saturday night that he had called off a planned attack designed to destroy Iranian energy infrastructure.
“It’s a challenging landscape for the Trump administration because they are dealing with, not only an unstable regime, but an unpredictable regime, and we saw this last week,” Yingst said, reporting live from Tel Aviv, Israel.
“The president sent his negotiators to try and reach a deal with Iran – the Iranians launched missiles toward U.S. forces in Jordan, and I spoke with the president the next morning and he said: ‘was this an April Fool’s joke?’”
In mid-July, Iran launched strikes at the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, a major hub for U.S. air power in the region, killing at least two U.S. service members. Later that same day, Trump was spotted at one of his golf clubs in New Jersey.
Yingst commiserated with Trump for facing an enemy in war that did not reveal its plans of attack ahead of time.
“This is what they’re dealing with at the negotiating table: the Iranians not only come out and say one thing publicly and then something different behind the scenes, they’re also not good faith actors whenever they sign an agreement,” Yingst continued. “So the question remains if they will be willing to adhere to this deal that is in the works right now.”
Iran has also accused the Trump administration of being bad faith actors, and has taken the remarkable step of enlisting “senior psychologists” believing Trump to be “legitimately mentally ill.”
The Trump administration has also launched surprise strikes against Iran amid negotiations, including with the launch of the U.S. war against Iran in late February.