Trump said he explained to the Russian president that the Russia-Ukraine conflict “should also end” during the one-hour call.
U.S. President Donald Trump said he had a phone call with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Saturday over the tensions in the Middle East and Russia-Ukraine peace talks, and both of them agreed that “this war in Israel-Iran should end.”
“He feels, as do I, this war in Israel-Iran should end,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social, adding that Putin knows Iran “very well.”
Trump said he also explained to the Russian president that the Russia-Ukraine conflict “should also end” during the one-hour call.
“We talked at length. Much less time was spent talking about Russia/Ukraine, but that will be for next week,” said Trump. “He (Putin) is doing the planned prisoner swaps — large numbers of prisoners are being exchanged, immediately, from both sides.”
Saturday was Trump’s 79th birthday. Trump said that Putin wished him a happy birthday during the phone call.
Iran Raids Israel
A woman was killed and 13 others were injured on Saturday night when a missile launched from Iran struck a two-story building in the Arab city of Tamra in northern Israel, according to Israel’s national emergency service, Magen David Adom.
A barrage of missiles was fired from Iran toward wide areas of northern Israel, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement. According to Israel’s Channel 12 News, the attack involved more than 40 missiles.
Following the missile launches, smartphone alerts were issued and sirens were activated in Haifa, the Galilee region, the Sea of Galilee area, and other northern locations, prompting hundreds of thousands of residents to seek shelter.
The IDF stated that, while intercepting the incoming missiles, the Israeli air force was also conducting strikes on military targets in Tehran.
Iraq on Saturday urged the United States to uphold its responsibility to prevent Israeli aircraft from breaching Iraqi airspace to carry out attacks.
Sabah Al-Numan, spokesperson for the commander-in-chief of the Iraqi armed forces, stated that the Iraqi government called on the U.S. to fulfill its obligations under bilateral agreements and international conventions to prevent such violations.
The Iraqi government reiterated its firm and unequivocal rejection of any violation of Iraqi airspace or its use for military attacks carried out by Israel against Iran or any other neighboring country, the statement said.
Iraq has exercised the highest levels of restraint in hopes of allowing diplomatic and political solutions to defuse the crisis through peaceful means, the statement added.
The spokesperson stressed that Iraq has the right, under international law and the United Nations Charter, to use all available means to respond to any violation of its national sovereignty by any party.
On Friday, Iraq submitted an official complaint to the United Nations Security Council, condemning Israel for violating its airspace to conduct military operations.
Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke by phone with U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday to discuss the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, as well as broader regional and global issues, according to a statement from Erdogan’s office.
“While underlining that Türkiye is closely monitoring the tension between Iran and Israel, President Erdogan noted that Türkiye considers the ongoing nuclear negotiations the only way to resolve the dispute,” the statement said.
He expressed Türkiye’s support for the United States’ stance on continuing nuclear talks and reaffirmed Ankara’s commitment to promoting diplomatic efforts to prevent further escalation.
Erdogan emphasized that Türkiye is ready to do everything possible to prevent an uncontrolled escalation of tensions, the statement noted.
The phone conversation came amid heightened fears of a broader regional conflict following recent Israeli strikes on Iranian territory.
In the pre-dawn hours of Friday, Israel launched a series of coordinated airstrikes targeting strategic locations across the country, including the capital, Tehran. Iranian state media confirmed the deaths of several high-ranking military commanders and prominent nuclear scientists in these attacks.
In response to the Israeli offensive, Iran has launched barrages of ballistic missiles at military targets inside Israel since Friday night, further intensifying the conflict.
