Trump warns of 'global catastrophe' after Iran's missile attack on Israel - having likened the sworn enemies to 'two kids fighting in the schoolyard'

Former US President Donald Trump warned of 'global catastrophe' after Iran's brutal missile attack on Israel after likening the sworn enemies to 'two kids fighting in the schoolyard'.

The remarks came after tensions in the Middle East continue to spiral, with Iran firing nearly 200 ballistic missiles at Israeli territory overnight and Israeli military now preparing a 'significant retaliation' to the shocking attack. 

Following the attack, Trump, 78, criticised US Presdient Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, referring to the situation as 'very close to global catastrophe'. 

'I've been talking about World War III for a long time, and I don't want to make predictions because the predictions always come true,' Trump said.

'We're not going to make predictions but they are very close to global catastrophe.

'We have a non-existent president and a non-existent vice president who should be in charge, but nobody knows what's going on, she was at a fundraiser in San Francisco' he added. 

The Republican presidential candidate also likened the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran to 'two kids fighting in the schoolyard' during a press conferene in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

'This has been really bad but they have to finish that process, however it turns out,' Trump said.

'This is a little bit like two kids fighting in the schoolyard, sometimes you just sort of let it go a little bit and we'll see what happens'.

Trump said last night's attack should have never taken place, adding that the US will be deeply inolved in the Middle East.

'It's a horrible, horrible war,' he said, 'and then you see what's happening even today, when is that going to stop?

'You look at these forces, they shot down almost 200 rokets today, but this is not the way anybody should have to live, so we're obviously going to be very involved in the Middle East'.

Trump also claimed that when he was the US president, there was no war in the Middle East and 'Iran was in total check'.

'They were starved for cash, fully contained, and desperate to make a deal. Kamala flooded them with American cash and, ever since, they have been exporting terror all over,' he said.

'Under 'President Trump,' we had no war in the Middle East, no war in Europe, and Harmony in Asia, no inflation, no Afghanistan catastrophe,' he added.

The former US president further charged that the two 'incompetents running this country are leading the US to the brink of World War III, a war like no other. 

'This is what the policies of weakness and appeasement have brought to the world,' he said.

Iran on Tuesday launched the barrage of rockets aIsrael, as Tehran responded to the assassination of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah last week.

The assault, which lasted around an hour, took place shortly after the US warned an attcak was imminent.

The majority of the missiles were intercepted and destroyed by Israel's Arrow and David's Sling missile defense systems, with assistance from US destroyers and Jordanian interceptors in the region.

The Pentagon confirmed that the American destroyers USS Cole and USS Bulkeley had also helped Israel intercept roughly a dozen Iranian missiles, while gighter jets have been deployed to the region. 

White House officials said the attack appeared to be 'defeated and ineffective' and there were no known casualties in Israel as a result.

However, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan called the move a 'seriosu escalation' by Iran amid growing tensions brewing in the Middle East.

'This fire will have consequences,' Israel Defence Forces spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari vowed after the attack. 

'We have plans, and we will act in the time and place that we choose.'