US President Donald Trump on Monday called on Iran to “raise the white flag of surrender,” while saying he was not working toward a specific timetable for the conflict and was not rushing to reach an outcome.
In an interview with Fox News, Trump said the US midterm elections were not influencing his approach to the conflict.
“I don’t have a specific timetable, and I’m not in a hurry,” Trump said, adding that “the midterm elections have nothing to do with my thinking.”
Trump also declined to endorse any candidate in Israel’s elections, saying he preferred to remain outside the electoral contest. “I think it is more appropriate for me to stay away from the Israeli elections,” he said, while leaving open the possibility of supporting a candidate later.
On Gaza, Trump said he saw positive developments in efforts to disarm Hamas. He also said Israel should not conduct raids in Gaza at the moment. “We have a special relationship with Hamas, and they are giving up their weapons,” Trump said.
Trump also rejected concerns that the ongoing conflict with Iran could significantly deplete US weapons supplies.
He said the United States still had large stockpiles, describing the amount of weapons used so far as “negligible” and saying the country had a substantial supply of what he called “medium-level weapons.”
