Share and Follow
President Trump sidestepped a question Monday on what it would take for the U.S. military to get involved in the escalating military strikes between Israel and Iran.
“I don’t want to talk about that,” he told reporters on his first day of the Group of Seven (G7) summit in Alberta, alongside Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
Israel and Iran exchanged strikes for the fourth consecutive day Monday. Iran fired a missile attack that killed at least eight people, and Israel warned people to evacuate Tehran because it achieved air superiority over the Iranian capital, The Associated Press reported.
Trump has been peppered with questions since Israel launched its attack late Thursday, mostly regarding the threshold for U.S. military involvement in another Middle Eastern conflict.
The president told ABC News on Sunday that “it’s possible” the U.S. becomes involved in the current conflict between Iran and Israel.
“We’re not involved in it. It’s possible we could get involved. But we are not at this moment involved,” Trump told the outlet.
On Monday in Canada, Trump replied “Yeah” when asked if he has seen any messages from intermediaries that Iran wishes to de-escalate the conflict.
“They’d like to talk,” the president said. “But they should have done that before, I had 60 days, and they had 60 days, and on the 61st, I said, ‘We don’t have a deal.’ 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.”
Iran has signaled it wants to end the conflict and resume nuclear talks in messages to the U.S. and Israel through Arab intermediaries, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Trump also told reporters Sunday that the U.S. intends to continue to support Israel’s airstrikes on Iran. The administration at first notably distanced itself from involvement in Israel’s initial round of strikes.
Israel bombarded Iran early Friday morning, moving forward with its largest-ever military operation against its Middle East rival and upending a push from Trump for a nuclear deal with Iran.
