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On Friday evening, while onstage at a finance conference in Miami Beach for Saudi Arabia\u2019s sovereign investment fund, President Trump boasted that the world was \u201ccloser than ever to the rise of the Middle East\u201d because of U.S. dominance in the war with Iran.<\/p>\n
Yet even as the president was speaking, news broke that an Iranian missile strike had injured American service members stationed at an air base in Saudi Arabia, the \u201cpowerful\u201d nation whose protection he said the United States had ensured. At least 12 Americans were hurt in the attack, two of them seriously injured, according to U.S. officials.<\/a><\/p>\n Mr. Trump appeared to be unaware in the moment of the combined missile and drone attack, which was one of the most serious breaches of U.S. air defenses in the course of the monthlong war. While onstage, he continued to praise the dominance of the United States and its Gulf allies. The result was an unsettling, split-screen reminder that despite Mr. Trump\u2019s contention, the war is far from resolved and could risk more American lives.<\/p>\n \u201cWe saved not just Israel, we saved the Middle East \u2014 and it was proven by all those rockets that fired down upon you,\u201d Mr. Trump said. It is unclear whether Mr. Trump knew that Americans had been injured in an attack on Prince Sultan Air Base as he continued to boast that Iran was \u201cbegging to make a deal\u201d after a \u201ccrushing\u201d assault from American forces.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The White House did not respond to an inquiry during Mr. Trump\u2019s speech about whether he was aware of the attack, which was first reported by The Wall Street Journal<\/a>. As of Friday night, Mr. Trump had not acknowledged the strike on the Saudi base, although he continued to post to his social media.<\/p>\n The onslaught of attacks from Iran has killed at least 13 American service members<\/a> in the Middle East.<\/p>\n Influential leaders from the region were in the audience on Friday, including Yasir al-Rumayyan,<\/a> the leader of the Saudi wealth fund that arranges the annual event, at which Mr. Trump also spoke last year.<\/p>\n Mr. al-Rumayyan was seen sitting next to Donald Trump Jr., the president\u2019s son. Jared Kushner, the president\u2019s son-in-law, delivered remarks at the event on Thursday, while Steve Witkoff, the president\u2019s special envoy, spoke on Friday. Mr. Kushner and Mr. Witkoff are administration officials whom the president has trusted to negotiate with Iran. The Trump family has faced criticism for its business ties to Saudi Arabia<\/a>.<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s attacks in the Gulf region have included strikes on an oil refinery and the U.S. embassy in Saudi Arabia. Dozens of residents have been injured.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n