President Trump teased possible deeper U.S. involvement in the conflict between Israel and Iran on Tuesday as he cut short his visit to the G7 summit with Western allies in Canada.
Jetting back to the White House overnight, Trump said he was planning to convene meetings in the situation room with aides about the escalating crisis in the Middle East.
But Trump bristled at reports he might reach out to Iran for talks to end the fighting, presumably by cutting a deal to limit or end its nuclear program.
“If they want to talk, they know how to reach me,” Trump wrote on his social media site at 5:20 a.m. after previously posting at 1 a.m. “They should have taken the deal that was on the table. Would have saved a lot of lives.”
He chided French President Emmanuel Macron for saying Trump might seek to broker a “ceasefire” between warring Israel and Iran.
“It certainly has nothing to do with a cease fire. Much bigger than that,” he added.
Trump unpredictable actions and statements come at a key moment in the Middle East conflict.
After five days of missile strikes, Israel has inflicted considerable damage on Iran and believes it can now deal a permanent blow to Tehran’s nuclear program, especially if it gets U.S. help.
But Trump would face significant political risks if he chooses to deepen American involvement, perhaps by providing the Israelis with bunker-busting bombs to penetrate underground Iranian nuclear sites.
Trump lashed out at pundit Tucker Carlson, calling him “kooky.”
Carlson, like other far right-wing figures has criticized the Israeli attacks and called on the U.S. to stay out of the war.
Trump said he wasn’t ruling out a diplomatic option and he could send special envoy Steve Witkoff to meet with the Iranians.
He also dismissed congressional testimony from National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard, who told lawmakers in March that U.S. spy agencies did not believe Iran was building a nuclear weapon.
“I don’t care what she said,” Trump said. “I think they were very close to having it.”
