President Trump said “it’s possible” the United States becomes involved in the current conflict between Iran and Israel, ABC News reported Sunday.
“We’re not involved in it. It’s possible we could get involved. But we are not at this moment involved,” Trump told ABC News.
ABC News also reported that Trump expressed interest in the possibility of mediation in the Iran-Israel conflict by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“I would be open to it. [Putin] is ready. He called me about it. We had a long talk about it. We talked about this more than his situation. This is something I believe is going to get resolved,” Trump said, per ABC News.
On Thursday overnight, Israel bombarded Iran, moving forward with its largest-ever military operation against its common Middle East rival and upending a push from President Trump for a nuclear deal with Iran.
The U.S. attempted to quickly distance itself from the strikes, which killed some of Iran’s top military leaders. However, Trump administration officials were reportedly briefed on plans prior to the strikes.
“Tonight, Israel took unilateral action against Iran. We are not involved in strikes against Iran and our top priority is protecting American forces in the region,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement on Thursday evening.
“Israel advised us that they believe this action was necessary for its self-defense. President Trump and the Administration have taken all necessary steps to protect our forces and remain in close contact with our regional partners,” he added.
The Hill has reached out to the White House for further comment.
