Topline
President Donald Trump recently vetoed a plan Israel proposed to kill the supreme leader of Iran, according to multiple reports, with Trump saying Sunday he’s pushing for peace between the two countries “soon.”
Trump suggested “many calls and meetings” are taking place, as Iranian leadership threatened a “more … More
Key Facts
Trump in recent days pushed Israeli officials away from a plan to kill Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, unnamed U.S. officials told Reuters and the Associated Press.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Forbes concerning the report.
“Iran and Israel should make a deal, and will make a deal,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Sunday, adding “we will have PEACE soon, between Israel and Iran” and that “many calls and meetings” are taking place.
Trump did not offer specifics about the ongoing talks, later telling ABC News he was “open” to Russian President Vladimir Putin serving as a mediator and they had “a long talk about it.”
In his social media post, Trump referred to recent peace talks brokered by the U.S. between India and Pakistan, claiming he helped achieve a cease-fire deal “by using TRADE with the United States to bring reason, cohesion and sanity into the talks.”
His claim that peace would similarly be reached between Israel and Iran contradicts recent comments from both countries: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested Saturday that Israel’s campaign against Iran would intensify, while Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian reportedly threatened Israel with a “more severe and decisive” response to recent bombings.
Israel and Iran traded attacks through Sunday, including reports of Israeli strikes in Tehran as the Israel Defense Forces warned of a possible incoming “missile barrage” launched by Iran.
Chief Critic
Pezeshkian condemned the U.S., claiming Israel is “not capable of any action without permission of the U.S.,” adding, “what we are witnessing today is being done with the direct support of [Washington, D.C.]” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement last week Israel’s decision to strike Iran was “unilateral” and the U.S. is “not involved.”
What To Watch For
Leadership from the Group of Seven countries, which includes the U.S., the U.K., Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan, will arrive Sunday in Alberta, Canada. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who is attending the summit, told reporters he raised discussions to deescalate the conflict between Israel and Iran, including talks with Trump and Netanyahu, and said there is a “huge risk of escalation for the [Middle East]
and more widely” because of Iran’s nuclear program. Trump is scheduled to arrive at the summit late Sunday, with talks to start Monday.
Key Background
Israel launched strikes targeting Iran’s main nuclear enrichment facility late Thursday, as Netanyahu claimed the attacks were meant to stop Iran from “buying for time” in ongoing nuclear talks with the U.S. Iranian reports said some top officials were killed in the Israeli strikes, including the commander in chief of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, Gen. Hossein Salami, and two prominent nuclear scientists. Brigadier Gen. Abolfazl Shekarchi, an Iranian military spokesperson, claimed Israel’s attacks were “carried out with U.S. support,” despite Washington denying involvement. The Iranian foreign ministry appeared to dismiss Rubio’s comments that Israel acted unilaterally, claiming the “acts of aggression against Iran could not have been carried out without the coordination and approval” of U.S. officials. The Iranian foreign ministry also appeared to threaten retaliation against the U.S., which Iran said would “bear responsibility.” Trump has said he gave Iran “chance after chance to make a deal,” though “no matter how hard [the U.S.]
tried, no matter how close they got, they just couldn’t get it done.”
Further Reading
