Trump says Iran should talk about de-escalating ‘before it’s too late’
Iran wants to talk about de-escalating hostilities with Israel, and should do so immediately “before it’s too late”, President Trump said.
“I’d say Iran is not winning this war … and they should talk immediately before it’s too late,” he told reporters at the start of a meeting with Canada’s PM Mark Carney on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Kananaskis.
Iran’s FM says phone call from Washington could ‘pave the way to diplomacy’
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “a war criminal” and said Israel’s PM is deliberately provoking war to block a diplomatic breakthrough between Iran and the US.
In a Telegram post, Araghchi said that Israel’s leadership is “hiding in Tel Aviv bunkers” and vowed that Iran’s armed forces will continue to retaliate “for as long as necessary to ensure that they no longer target our people”.
Araghchi said that if US President Donald Trump “truly believes in diplomacy” and wants to stop the war, then “a phone call from Washington is all it takes to silence Netanyahu”.
“That could pave the way for a return to diplomacy,” he said, adding that Iran didn’t start the war and does not seek further bloodshed, but will fight “with honour, to the last drop of blood” to defend its land and people.
‘This is madness’
The escalating fighting between Israel and Iran will not resolve the core disagreements between the archenemies, and diplomacy is the only way forward, an analyst says.
“There’s an urgent need to stop this now. This is madness,” said Barbara Slavin, a distinguished fellow at the Stimson Center in Washington and a lecturer in international affairs at George Washington University.
She said the diplomatic process with the United States over Iran’s nuclear programme had shown signs of bearing fruit, but after Israel’s surprise attack, the Iranians believe they were “double-crossed” by the Americans.
Israel is unable to stop Iran from firing missiles into the country and killing Israelis and vice versa, Slavin said.
“How much longer is this going to go on? This is not going to be resolved through military action, and the sooner it comes to an end, the better,” she told Al Jazeera.
