Despite evidence that the conflict between Israel and Iran is escalating, US President Donald Trump expressed optimism yesterday that peace would come soon and cited the possibility that Russia’s Vladimir Putin could help.
In a social media post, 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 said he was open to Putin, whose forces invaded Ukraine and who has resisted Trump’s attempts to broker a ceasefire with Kyiv, serving as a mediator.
“Iran and Israel should make a deal, and will make a deal,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social site. “We will have PEACE, soon, between Israel and Iran! Many calls and meetings now taking place.”
Trump did not offer any details about the meetings or evidence of progress towards peace. His assertion contradicted comments by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said on Saturday that Israel’s campaign against Iran would intensify.
A White House spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on how Trump and the White House were working to de-escalate the situation in the Middle East.
Trump told ABC News that Iran wanted to make a deal and indicated something like the Israel strikes would accelerate that. “Something like this had to happen because I think even from both sides, but something like this had to happen. They want to talk, and they will be talking,” Trump said. “May have forced a deal to go quicker, actually.”
The US has engaged in talks with Iran about its nuclear programme and Trump has told reporters previously that the talks were going well. But another round of discussions scheduled for yesterday in Oman was cancelled after the Israeli and Iranian strikes.
Trump said he and Putin had discussed the situation in the Middle East on Saturday in a call that focused more on that conflict than the Russian war in Ukraine.
“He is ready. He called me about it,” Trump said about Putin serving as a mediator, according to Scott. “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.”
Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron, during a visit to Greenland to offer his support to the Arctic island, said yesterday that Russia lacked the credibility to mediate the crisis between Israel and Iran as Trump has suggested.
“I do not believe that Russia, which is now engaged in a high-intensity conflict and has decided not to respect the UN Charter for several years now, can be a mediator,” Macron said.
He also said France did not take part in any of Israel’s attacks against Iran.
Macron was visiting Greenland, a self-governing part of Denmark with the right to declare independence that Trump has threatened to take over, ahead of a trip to Canada for the Group of Seven Leaders’ summit.
In a Press conference, Macron said the island was threatened by “predatory ambition,” and that its situation was a wakeup call for all Europeans.
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