Trump says Iran leadership was 'evil' and 'somebody had to' eliminate the regime

President Donald Trump.

President Trump hosted German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Tuesday in the Oval Office, where the two leaders took questions from reporters. Inquiries from the media centered on the war with Iran, in which the U.S. and Israel took out the country's supreme leader and dozens of other top officials and military leaders. 

At one point, Trump was asked why the U.S. was receiving cooperation from several of the key nations in the region. The president responded that Iran's "evil" ideology, not its politics necessarily, ultimately did the country's leadership in and has prompted a strong response from other in the Middle East. 

"It’s a very evil ideology, Trump said. "Even the fact that they've attacked all of their neighbors -- and the neighbors weren't attacking," showed that Iran was unpopular in the Gulf region. Trump also pointed to the fact that Iran brutally killed protesters, in some cases using snipers to kill demonstrators. "Somebody had to do it," Trump concluded. Watch his full response to the question below. 

Trump was also asked by a reporter if the U.S. was "forced" into the war by Israel. "I might've forced their hand," the president said of Operation Epic Fury.