‘Negotiate Before It's Too Late': Trump Warns Iran Amid Escalating Conflict With Israel
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President Trump urged Iran to negotiate with Israel, stating Iran is not winning the conflict. The intense confrontation has led to significant casualties and destruction.
US President Donald Trump said Monday that Iran was not winning its conflict with Israel and should re-enter negotiations 'before it's too late."
'They have to make a deal, and it's painful for both parties, but I'd say Iran is not winning this war, and they should talk, and they should talk immediately before it's too late," Trump told reporters at a G7 summit in Canada's Kananaskis.
Israel and Iran traded deadly fire for a fourth day on Monday in their most intense confrontation in history, fuelling fears of a drawn-out conflict that could engulf the West Asia East.
The longtime foes have fought a prolonged shadow war through proxies and covert operations, with Israel battling several Iran-backed groups in the region, including Hamas in the Gaza Strip since October 2023.
In a major campaign launched early Friday, Israeli fighter jets and drones have struck nuclear and military sites in Iran, also hitting residential areas and fuel depots.
Iran's health ministry says at least 224 people have been killed and more than 1,200 wounded.
Tehran has responded with barrages of missiles and drones that hit Israeli cities and towns, killing at least 24 people and wounding 592 others, according to the prime minister's office.
Israel has also killed many top military commanders and atomic scientists in Iran as part of an offensive that officials say seeks to end nuclear and missile threats from the Islamic republic.
The Iranian state broadcaster IRIB building, located in the district, was hit in a strike, following Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz's warning that 'the Iranian propaganda and incitement megaphone is about to disappear."
The Israeli military said that after a wave of strikes on Monday, its forces had destroyed one third of Iran's surface-to-surface missile launchers.
According to military spokesman Effie Defrin, 'we have now achieved full air superiority over Tehran".
That followed a wave of intense air raids across the country, from the western border with Iraq to the capital Tehran and as far east as Mashhad, where the airport was hit.
In Tehran early Monday, Israel said it hit command centres belonging to the Quds Force, the foreign operations arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Reza Sayyad, spokesman for the Iranian armed forces, said their targets in Israel included 'sensitive and important" security sites as well as 'the residences of military commanders and scientists".
An Israeli official told AFP that among the sites hit on Sunday was a major oil refinery in the coastal city of Haifa.
Sayyad, in a televised address, vowed a 'devastating response" to the Israeli attacks, while the Revolutionary Guards in a statement warned they would hit more 'vital targets" in Israel 'until its complete destruction".
Residential areas in both countries have suffered, with Israel accusing Iran of deliberately targeting civilians.
(With AFP inputs)
First Published:
June 16, 2025, 21:34 IST
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