Trump wants ‘real end’ to Iran-Israel conflict
“I’m not looking for a ceasefire, we’re looking at better than a ceasefire,” U.S. president says.
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The president’s comments underscored his hardening support for Israel’s extended assault, despite his past anti-war rhetoric. | Spencer Colby/EFE via EPA
JUNE 17, 2025 12:36 PM CET
BY
ADAM CANCRYN
ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE — U.S. President Donald Trump wants the intensifying conflict between Israel and Iran to end in a “complete give-up” by Tehran on nuclear weapons, rejecting suggestions that he might be eager to negotiate a temporary ceasefire in the Middle East.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One after abruptly cutting short his time at the G7 summit in Canada on Monday, Trump praised the Israeli offensive and insisted that Iran’s nuclear capabilities needed to be wiped out.
“A complete give-up, it’s possible,” Trump said of his preferred end to the fighting, adding he wanted “not a ceasefire, a real end” to the conflict. “I’m not too much in a mood to negotiate.”
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Trump’s remarks came shortly after he
blasted French President Emmanuel Macron in a Truth Social post for suggesting that he was returning to Washington early to try to finalize a ceasefire between Israel and Iran.
The president’s comments also underscored his hardening support for Israel’s extended assault, despite his past anti-war rhetoric and a growing backlash within his MAGA base over the U.S. involvement in the Middle East.
“I’m not looking for a ceasefire, we’re looking at better than a ceasefire,” Trump said, reiterating his criticism of Macron as a “nice guy” who “doesn’t get it right too often.”
Still, Trump offered few specifics about what that end might look like. He suggested that his approach would be determined by the events of the next couple days.
Trump planned to convene his advisers in the Situation Room early Tuesday, he said, and confirmed that he has considered dispatching Vice President JD Vance and Steve Witkoff, his Middle East envoy, to meet with Iranian officials.
He also continued to criticize Iran for failing to negotiate a nuclear deal in time to stave off the Israeli attack.