Trump: Ceasefire unlikely as Israel "doing well" in war with Iran

On June 20, President Donald Trump stated that it would be difficult to ask Israel to halt its military operations against Iran at this stage of the conflict, now entering its second week. 

His remarks come as calls for diplomacy grow, particularly from Iranian officials who say the US must urge Israel to cease airstrikes if Washington is serious about negotiations, Caliber.Az reports, citing American media.

“I think it’s very hard to make that request right now,” Trump said when asked about Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi’s demand for the US to rein in Israel.

“If somebody is winning, it’s a little bit harder to do than if somebody is losing,” the president continued. “But we’re ready, willing and able, and we’ve been speaking to Iran, and we’ll see what happens. We’ll see what happens.”

While Trump said he might consider supporting a ceasefire, he also noted, “It’s very hard to stop when you look at it — Israel’s doing well in terms of war, and I think you would say that Iran is doing less well.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed on June 19 that communication between the US and Iran “has continued,” though she did not clarify whether this contact was direct or via intermediaries. Leavitt said Trump would decide within two weeks whether to involve the US more directly in the conflict.

Trump reiterated that he was giving Iran a specific timeframe to respond. “We’re going to see what that period of time is, but I’m giving them a period of time, and I would say two weeks would be the maximum,” he said.

When asked whether US involvement would be limited to an aerial campaign or if it might involve ground forces, Trump dismissed the idea of deploying troops. “Well, I’m not going to talk about ground forces. The last thing you want to do is ground force,” he said.