KANANASKIS, Canada: US President Donald Trump said on Monday that Iran was not winning the war with Israel and pressed Tehran to return to negotiations “immediately before it’s too late,” amid fears of a wider regional conflict.
Talking to reporters at a G7 summit in Canada, Trump acknowledged that the ongoing hostilities are painful for both parties.
“They have to make a deal, and 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,” Trump said.
“We’ve always supported Israel. We have, for a long period of time, strongly, and Israel is doing very well right now,” he told reporters in Canada as he sat down for a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney.
Asked what it would take for the US to get militarily involved in the hostilities, Trump said: “I don’t want to talk about that.”
Earlier, Trump insisted Washington had “nothing to do” with Israel’s military campaign but warned any Iranian attack on American interests would trigger “the full strength and might” of the US military.
On Sunday, the US President urged both sides to “make a deal” while expressing doubts about near-term peace prospects.
“Sometimes they have to fight it out, but we’re going to see what happens,” he said.
A senior US official told AFP Trump had intervened to prevent Israel from carrying out an assassination of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Israel-Iran conflict
Regional tensions have escalated since Friday, when Israel launched surprised airstrikes on multiple sites across Iran, including military and nuclear facilities, prompting Tehran to launch retaliatory strikes.
Israel and Iran continued deadly fire for a fourth day on Monday, fuelling fears of a broader regional conflict.
Israeli authorities said at least 24 people have been killed and hundreds injured in Iranian missile attacks since Friday.
Iran, for its part, said at least 224 people have been killed and over 1,000 others wounded in the Israeli assault.
Israel has also killed many top military commanders and atomic scientists in Iran.
The Iranian state broadcaster IRIB building, located in the district, was hit in a strike, following Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz’s warning that “the Iranian propaganda and incitement megaphone is about to disappear.”
The Israeli military said that after a wave of strikes on Monday, its forces had destroyed one third of Iran’s surface-to-surface missile launchers.
Reza Sayyad, spokesman for the Iranian armed forces, said their targets in Israel included “sensitive and important” security sites as well as “the residences of military commanders and scientists”.
An Israeli official told AFP that among the sites hit on Sunday was a major oil refinery in the coastal city of Haifa.
Calls for de-escalation
The escalation has sparked growing international concern.
China urged both sides to “immediately take measures to cool down the tensions” and avoid plunging the region into deeper turmoil.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen also called for calm, telling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that “a negotiated solution is, in the long term, the best solution”.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan meanwhile told his Iranian counterpart in a phone call that Ankara is ready to play a “facilitating role” to end the conflict.
Meanwhile, during a phone call with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Monday, Erdogan accused Israel of threatening security in the Middle East, his office said.
“The spiral of violence that began with Israel’s attacks on Iran has put the security of the entire region at risk,” Erdogan was quoted as saying.
The Kremlin said Putin and Erdogan used the conversation to call for an “immediate” end to fighting between Israel and Iran. – Agencies
