The president confirmed that negotiations with Iran are ongoing, but played down expectations of a breakthrough in the near term.
NEW JERSEY — US President Donald Trump said that it will be difficult to request Israel stop its airstrikes in Iran, even as he pursues a diplomatic solution to end the conflict and despite growing international pressure for de-escalation, including from the United Nations
Trump made the remarks to reporters in New Jersey, where he attended a fundraiser at his golf course, Xinhua news agency reported quoting local media.
Trump said Israel’s current military advantage made any request for a ceasefire diplomatically difficult.
“I think it’s very hard to make that request right now,” Trump said. “If somebody is winning, it’s a little bit harder to do than if somebody is losing. But we’re ready, willing and able, and we’ve been speaking to Iran, and we’ll see what happens,” Trump is quoted in the media as saying.
The president confirmed that negotiations with Iran are ongoing, but played down expectations of a breakthrough in the near term. He made it clear the US would take its time before deciding whether to support Israel more directly.
Trump also dismissed European efforts to engage diplomatically with Iran. “They didn’t help… Iran doesn’t want to speak to Europe. They want to speak to us. Europe is not going to be able to help on this one.”
Earlier, US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said she “can’t speculate” on whether the Trump administration will press for a ceasefire between Iran and Israel to allow US-Iran nuclear talks to move forward.
“I’m not going to characterise what’s happening now, or the reaction by the president or the secretary of state to what those negotiations might be,” Bruce said at a news briefing Friday.
Meanwhile, The Israel Defence Force (IDF) has announced that over 35 missile storage and launch facilities in the Tiberias and Kermanshah areas of Iran have been destroyed in attacks conducted by more than 25 Israeli Air Force fighter jets on Friday morning.
The IDF also mentioned that the Israeli Air Force attacked several Iranian missile systems and radar installations in the areas of Isfahan and Tehran, which intended to target its aircraft and disrupt their operations. — WIth inputs from agencies
