NEW YORK: Amid growing concerns over escalating tensions between Israel and Iran, US President Donald Trump has stated that his administration is actively pursuing diplomatic efforts to ease the crisis.
In a post on the Truth Social platform, Trump emphasized that both nations should strike a deal, drawing a parallel with what he claimed was his successful mediation between India and Pakistan last month.
"Iran and Israel should make a deal—and will make a deal—just like I got India and Pakistan to make, by using trade with the United States to bring reason, cohesion, and sanity to the talks," Trump wrote, crediting what he called decisive leadership on both sides that led to a swift resolution.
He noted that several behind-the-scenes meetings are underway and expressed optimism about a possible breakthrough. In a separate interview with ABC News, Trump suggested that Russian President Vladimir Putin could also play a role in mediating the conflict.
Meanwhile, U.S. officials told NBC News that Trump turned down a proposal from Israel to assassinate Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei—describing it as a "grisly" option.
An unnamed American official told CBS news that the Israelis had the opportunity to assassinate Khamenei and Trump conveyed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that it wasn’t a good idea. He said the conversation between Netanyahu and Trump happened since Israel launched a massive attack on Iran last week.
On the current situation in the Middle East, The US leader also reiterated that his objective is to strike a nuclear deal with Iran. American and Iranian negotiators had been slated to meet in Oman for talks on Sunday but that got scrapped in the wake of Israel’s deadly strikes. Trump had given Iran 60 days to come to the table and claimed the strikes came the day after the 60-day marker.
“No, there’s no deadline. But they are talking. They’d like to make a deal. They’re talking. They continue to talk,” Trump said of Iran. “Something like this had to happen…May have forced a deal to go quicker, actually.”
The president, who spoke on the phone with Putin Saturday, his 79th birthday, mused when asked that the Russian President could serve as a mediator between Russia and Iran.
