NEW YORK, Jun 16 (APP): Despite reports that the conflict between Israel and Iran is escalating, U.S. President Donald Trump said Sunday his administration is engaged in a diplomatic effort to defuse the crisis, underscoring that the two Middle East rivals should make a deal like Pakistan and India did after his intervention last month.
“Iran and Israel should make a deal, and will make a deal, just like I got India and Pakistan to make, in that case by using TRADE with the United States to bring reason, cohesion, and sanity into the talks with two excellent leaders who were able to quickly make a decision and STOP!,” he said in a post on Truth Social media platform.
Trump said there were many unspecified meetings about the issue happening and encouraged the two countries to make a deal. And in an interview with ABC News, he cited the possibility that Russia’s Vladimir Putin could help.
Meanwhile, US officials told NBC News Sunday that President Trump rejected Israel’s grisly proposal to assassinate Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
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.
Trump’s rejection of the proposal was first reported by Reuters.
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 the Russian President could serve as a mediator between Russia and Iran.
“He is ready. He called me about it. We had a long talk about it. We talked about this more than his situation. This is something I believe is going to get resolved,” Trump told ABC News.
In his post, Trump sounded hopeful that Washington would be able to bring about a deal between longtime rivals Iran and Israel.
Apart from India and Pakistan, Trump said, “Another case is Egypt and Ethiopia, and their fight over a massive dam that is having an effect on the magnificent Nile River. There is peace, at least for now, because of my intervention, and it will stay that way!”
Trump, who used trade as a leverage to bring Pakistan and Indian clashes to a halt on May 10, referred to many calls and meetings as part of the U.S. diplomatic drive to have peace between Iran and Israel.
“Likewise, we will have PEACE, soon, between Israel and Iran! Many calls and meetings now taking place. I do a lot, and never get credit for anything, but that’s OK, the PEOPLE understand. MAKE THE MIDDLE EAST GREAT AGAIN!”
In another post, Trump said Sunday the U.S. had “nothing to do with” Israel’s attack against Iran.
He warned Tehran against attacking any U.S. targets, saying such an action would be met with the “full strength and might” of the U.S. military.
“The U.S. had nothing to do with the attack on Iran, tonight,” Trump wrote.
“If we are attacked in any way, shape or form by Iran, the full strength and might of the U.S. Armed Forces will come down on you at levels never seen before,” he warned.
“However, we can easily get a deal done between Iran and Israel, and end this bloody conflict!!!”
