President Donald Trump refrained from commenting on the potential U.S. involvement in Israel’s actions against Iran’s nuclear program. However, he did recognize Iran’s renewed inclination towards dialogue during the Group of 7 meeting in Canada on Monday.
Trump asserted, “They’d like to talk, but they should have done that before,” before the commencement of the G7 meeting. He reminded reporters of the 60-day window Iran had for negotiating, and that on the 61st day, he concluded there was no existing deal. In his words, “They have to make a deal.”
When probed about the circumstances under which the U.S. might engage in the conflict militarily, Trump declined to discuss the matter. “I don’t want to talk about that,” he responded. However, he did acknowledge that Iran needs to start discussions concerning his objective to thwart Iran’s ambitions for acquiring nuclear weapons-grade uranium enrichment.
Reports indicate that Trump stated, “It’s painful for both parties, but I’d say Iran is not winning this war, and they should talk and they should talk immediately before it’s too late.” This development follows earlier reports that Trump’s remarks on Sunday may have spurred Iran’s increased interest in dialogue.
While he confirmed his administration’s non-involvement in Israel’s strikes on Iran’s nuclear weapons program, he did not dismiss potential involvement in the future. “We’re not involved in it,” Trump told ABC News on Sunday. “It’s possible we could get involved, but we are not at this moment involved.”
Trump expressed his openness to having Russian President Vladimir Putin serve as an intermediary in nuclear deal talks with Iran. This suggestion mirrors Trump’s role as a mediator for Putin’s peace talks amid his conflict with Ukraine. “I would be open to it,” Trump said, adding that Putin “is ready.”
He further added, “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.”
