President Donald Trump has urged Iran and Israel to “make a deal” amid escalating military strikes between the two nations, but suggested they might first need to “fight it out.”
“I think it’s time for a deal,” Trump told reporters as both countries exchanged a fresh barrage of missile attacks, intensifying a conflict that has raised fears of a wider regional war. “But sometimes they have to fight it out—we’ll see what happens,” he added, speaking from the White House before departing for the G7 summit in Canada.
Also, according to Reuters, Israel allegedly had a covert plan to assassinate Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, but Trump blocked the operation.
Two unnamed officials told the news outlet that Israeli intelligence believed they had a viable opportunity to eliminate Iran’s top political and religious figure. However, Trump reportedly urged restraint, warning against such a provocative move unless American lives were directly targeted.
“Have the Iranians killed an American yet? No. Until they do, we’re not even talking about going after the political leadership,” one official quoted Trump as saying.
The claim was further corroborated by Axios journalist Barak Ravid, who confirmed through his sources that Trump had intervened to halt Israel’s plan to kill the Islamic Republic’s supreme leader.
Tensions between Israel and Iran have surged in recent weeks, with the region teetering on the edge of full-scale war. On Sunday night, Iran launched a fresh wave of missile strikes into Israel, hitting multiple sites and injuring at least seven people, including a 72-year-old woman. These attacks came just days after Israel launched one of its longest-range airstrikes, targeting a refueling aircraft in Iran’s Mashhad Airport—nearly 1,400 miles away.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, when pressed about the assassination plot during an interview on Fox News, declined to confirm or deny the report.
“There’s so many false reports of conversations that never happened, and I’m not going to get into that,” Netanyahu said.
“But I can tell you, I think that we do what we need to do. And I think the United States knows what is good for the United States.”
The escalating conflict began after Iran accused Israel of orchestrating five car bomb explosions near key government buildings in Tehran. In response, Israel’s air force launched an intense campaign against Iranian targets, sparking three days of retaliatory attacks.
