US president’s comments come after he warns Tehran residents to leave ‘immediately’.
United States President Donald Trump says he is looking for a “real end” and not just a ceasefire, as Israel and Iran trade air attacks for a fifth straight day.
Trump made the comments to reporters on Air Force One on Tuesday after his early departure from the Group of Seven (G7) summit in Canada.
“I’m not looking for a ceasefire. We’re looking at better than a ceasefire,” he said, reiterating his stance that “Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.”
Earlier, in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump refuted the suggestion he had left the summit to work on a ceasefire in the conflict.
“I have not reached out to Iran for ‘Peace Talks’ in any way, shape, or form,” he said. “If they want to talk, they know how to reach me. They should have taken the deal that was on the table – Would have saved a lot of lives!!!”
A sixth round of US-Iran nuclear talks was to have been held on Sunday in Oman, but Iran cancelled its participation after Israel launched a surprise bombing campaign on its longtime adversary on Friday.
“The other side [the US] acted in a way that makes dialogue meaningless,” Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Saturday. “You cannot claim to negotiate and at the same time divide work by allowing the Zionist regime [Israel] to target Iran’s territory.”
Trump publicly opposed an Israeli strike on Iran in the weeks leading up to the attacks, saying he preferred diplomacy. But he has since branded them “excellent”, even framing the bombardment as an asset in any potential talks.
Before Israel’s offensive, Iran had rejected a US proposal that included zero uranium enrichment and was slated to offer a counterproposal in a bid to advance the negotiations.
Israel has said its attacks on Iran are necessary to prevent its longtime adversary from getting any closer to building a nuclear weapon. Iran has responded by launching hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel, killing more than 20 people.
‘Nobody’s slowed up’
Asked on Air Force One whether Israel would scale down its attacks on Iran, which health officials said have killed more than 220 people so far, Trump appeared to indicate that that was unlikely.
“You’re going to find out over the next two days,” he said. “Nobody’s slowed up so far.”
Trump said it was possible that he could send his Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff or Vice President JD Vance to meet Iranian officials but added that depended on how events played out.
‘Evacuate Tehran’
Trump had earlier caused alarm with a sudden warning on social media before leaving the G7 summit that “everyone should immediately evacuate” Iran’s capital, Tehran.
“Iran should have signed the ‘deal’ I told them to sign,” he said in the comment, posted to Truth Social. “What a shame, and waste of human life.”
Asked to comment on the thinking behind his warning to evacuate Tehran, Trump told reporters that he wanted “people to be safe”.
China accused Trump of “pouring oil” on the conflict with his remarks.
“Making threats and mounting pressure will not help to promote the de-escalation of the situation but will only intensify and widen the conflict,” Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Guo Jiakun said.
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