In a landmark address to the Israeli Knesset on Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump extended a surprising message to Iran, expressing his desire to pursue a peace agreement following joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear sites earlier this year.
“They got it from one side, from the other, and you know it would be great if we could make a peace deal with them,” Trump said, referring to Iran’s experience during the brief conflict. He added, “Would you be happy with that? Wouldn’t it be nice, I think. Because I think they want to.”
Trump emphasized that the initiative now rests with Tehran: “We’re ready when you are.”
Defending his 2018 decision to withdraw the U.S. from the Iran nuclear deal brokered under former President Barack Obama, Trump reiterated his opposition to the original agreement but said a new path forward is possible. “Yet even to Iran, whose regime has inflicted so much death on the Middle East, the hand of friendship and cooperation is open,” he told Israeli lawmakers.
He made clear that the United States and Israel hold no animosity toward the Iranian people: “We merely want to live in peace.”
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