Iran and Israel will have peace "soon," US President Donald Trump said in a social media post on Sunday, adding that there were many unspecified meetings happening and that the two countries should make a deal.
Israel and Iran launched fresh attacks on each other overnight into Sunday, killing scores.
"Iran and Israel should make a deal, and will make a deal," Trump said on Truth Social, adding that "we will have PEACE, soon."
Trump did not offer any details about the meetings or evidence of progress toward peace. His assertion contradicted comments by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said on Saturday that Israel's campaign against Iran would intensify.
A White House spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on how Trump and the White House were working to de-escalate the situation in the Middle East.
Trump, who portrays himself as a peacemaker and has drawn criticism from his political base for not being able to prevent the Israel-Iran conflict, cited other disputes that he took responsibility for solving, including between India and Pakistan, and lamented not getting more praise for doing so.
"I do a lot, and never get credit for anything, but that’s OK, the PEOPLE understand. MAKE THE MIDDLE EAST GREAT AGAIN!" he wrote.
Trump tells ABC he is 'open' to Putin as Iran-Israel conflict mediator
Later during the day, Trump told a news network it remains possible the United States will become involved in the Iran-Israel conflict and that he would be "open" to Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin being a mediator.
"It's possible we could get involved" in the ongoing battle between the Middle East arch-foes, Trump said in an interview, according to ABC News which said the Republican president stressed that the United States is "not at this moment" involved in the military action.
As for Putin being a potential mediator in the conflict, "he is ready. He called me about it. We had a long talk about it," Trump told an ABC News reporter.
Trump has repeatedly said Iran could end the war by agreeing to tough restrictions on its nuclear programme, which Iran says is for peaceful purposes but Western countries say could be used to make a bomb.
The latest round of nuclear negotiations between Iran and the United States, due to be held on Sunday, was scrapped after Tehran said it would not negotiate while under Israeli attack.
Reuters / AFP
