Trump Explores US Involvement in Israeli-Iranian Conflict

During an interview with ABC News, President Donald Trump discussed the possibility of US involvement in the conflict between Israel and Iran. He stated, “We’re not involved in that. We could be involved. But we’re not involved at this point,” while talking to Rachel Scott.

Trump mentioned that he had a detailed conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin regarding the Middle East tensions. He expressed openness to Putin acting as a mediator between Israel and Iran, saying, “I’d be open to that. [Putin] is ready. He called me about it. We talked about it for a long time.”

This conversation follows Israel’s request for the US to join its military efforts against Iran, particularly to address its nuclear program. However, reports indicate that the Trump administration is currently not contemplating such a move.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu emphasized that a primary goal for his administration is to curtail Iran’s capabilities to produce weapons that threaten Israel. The situation is further complicated by Israel’s reported lack of the necessary military resources, such as bunkerbuster bombs, to target Iran’s deeply buried Fodow facility, while the US possesses such capabilities.

In other developments, Steve Witkoff’s planned trip to Oman for discussions about Iran’s nuclear aspirations was put on hold following Israel’s recent military actions. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragut described the nuclear negotiations as “unjust” after the attack.

Trump conveyed that he had given Iran a 60-day ultimatum but mentioned that there were no new deadlines set, clarifying, “No, there’s no deadline. But they’re talking. They want to make a deal.” He added that ongoing tensions might actually accelerate discussions, leading to resolutions more swiftly.