Donald Trump assured Elon Musk and Tucker Carlson in an Oval Office meeting early last year that he would not go to war with Iran, according to a new book by New York Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan. The book, titled 'Regime Change', claims Trump told the pair: 'We're not doing that.'
Carlson, who had criticised Trump for not confronting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the Gaza conflict, warned the president that a broader war would be his ruin. 'They want you to go to war with Iran,' Carlson said, to which Trump replied, 'We're not doing that.' Trump also reportedly boasted, 'I don't think there's ever been an American president as powerful as I am.'
The book also details Trump's 'enthralled' reaction to images from Israel's 2024 pager attack on Hezbollah in Lebanon. Trump described injuries including 'mutilated genitals and missing hands', comparing one victim's wounds to a shark bite. He expressed fascination with the attack's ingenuity but disbelief at its indiscriminate nature.
Musk, described as 'transfixed' by a golden pager gifted to Trump by Netanyahu, and Carlson were present during the discussions. The book is set for release in the US on Tuesday and includes accounts of Trump's decision to go to war with Iran, which occurred on 28 February this year, and other topics such as the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.
