US President Donald Trump has called on Israel and Iran to reach an agreement, suggesting that undisclosed talks were under way and predicting peace between the two countries soon.
“We will have peace, soon, between Israel and Iran,” Mr Trump said in a social media post on Sunday.
“Many calls and meetings now taking place,” he said. “I do a lot and never get credit for anything, but that’s OK, the people understand. Make the Middle East great again.”
The White House did not provide more details on the nature of the discussions.
Mr Trump also said that Washington could still become involved in the escalating conflict while emphasising that Washington was “not at this moment” engaged in military action.
“It's possible we could get involved,” Mr Trump said in an interview with ABC News.
He told Tehran that any attack on the US would trigger a military response of unprecedented force, while distancing Washington from Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear and intelligence sites.
Writing on social media, Mr Trump said the US “had nothing to do with the attack on Iran tonight”, referring to Israel’s military operations against Tehran. He acknowledged prior knowledge of the strikes.
Iran's UN envoy Amir Iravani accused the US on Friday during an emergency session of the Security Council of providing full political and intelligence support to Israeli strikes on Iranian territory, calling the attacks a “declaration of war”.
“We will not forget that our people lost their lives as a result of the Israeli attacks with American weapons. These actions amount to a declaration of war,” he said.
Mr Trump said that if the US were to be “attacked in any way, shape or form by Iran, the full strength and might of the US armed forces will come down on you at levels never seen before”.
“We can easily get a deal done between Iran and Israel and end this bloody conflict,” he added.
A round of US-Iran nuclear talks that was due to be held in Oman on Sunday was cancelled.
He also expressed openness to Russian President Vladimir Putin acting as a mediator between the two Middle East foes, Mr Trump said, “He is ready. He called me about it. We had a long talk about it.”
A round of US-Iran nuclear talks that was due to be held in Oman on Sunday was cancelled.
The Middle East teetered on the brink on Friday after the Israeli military launched Operation Rising Lion against Iran’s nuclear and military sites.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the operation was launched to “roll back the Iranian threat to Israel's very survival”.
“This operation will continue for as many days as it takes to remove this threat,” he said on Friday.
Israel said its strikes have killed senior generals and also leading scientists and experts involved in Iran's nuclear programme.
During his first term as President, Mr Trump unilaterally withdrew the US from the landmark 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, dismantling an agreement brokered three years earlier under his predecessor Barack Obama and reimposing sanctions.
