'I never get credit,' says Trump amid claims of Israel-Iran peace efforts

US President Donald Trump cited India and Pakistan's example to claim that he has made efforts to broker deals between conflict-ridden countries, adding that he did not get the credit

US President Donald Trump on Sunday said he has never received credit for mediating peace between warring nations, even as he spoke of securing a peace deal between Israel and Iran. “I do a lot, and never get credit for anything, but that’s OK, the PEOPLE understand,” Trump said in a post on social media platform, Truth Social.

 

To justify his role in past de-escalations, Trump cited his intervention between India and Pakistan, where he claimed to have used trade diplomacy to bring about calm: “...just like I got India and Pakistan to make [a deal], in that case by using trade with the United States to bring reason, cohesion, and sanity into the talks with two excellent leaders who were able to quickly make a decision and stop.”

 

 

Tying that to the current Middle East crisis, he said, “There is peace, at least for now, because of my intervention, and it will stay that way! Likewise, we will have PEACE, soon, between Israel and Iran! Many calls and meetings now taking place.” As the conflict between Israel and Iran intensifies, Trump’s claim underscores his diplomatic efforts that went unacknowledged. “MAKE THE MIDDLE EAST GREAT AGAIN!” he said.

 

Trump also cited examples of conflict-ridden countries in his first term and said, “Serbia and Kosovo were going at it hot and heavy, as they have for many decades, and this long time conflict was ready to break out into WAR. I stopped it (Biden has hurt the longer term prospects with some very stupid decisions, but I will fix it, again!). Another case is Egypt and Ethiopia, and their fight over a massive dam that is having an effect on the magnificent Nile River.”

 

 

Israel-Iran conflict escalates after attack

 

Israel, on Friday, launched an attack on the nuclear sites in Iran’s capital, Tehran, as tensions escalated over its rapidly advancing nuclear programme. Following the attack, Iran retaliated, resulting in casualties on both sides.

 

On Sunday (local time), Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Fox News that Iran wants Trump dead and thinks of him as their number one enemy. Netanyahu made this claim as US officials told Reuters that Trump blocked Israel’s plan to kill Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, after killing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ officer, including its chief Hossein Salami

 

India rejects Trump’s claim of ceasefire deal 

It wasn’t the first time Trump has claimed to broker a deal between India and Pakistan after tensions escalated between the two nuclear-armed neighbours last month. Indian armed forces carried out coordinated missile strikes on terrorist infrastructure at nine locations in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), under the code name ‘Operation Sindoor’. The attack was in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed the lives of 26 people, mostly tourists.

 

India’s Ministry of External Affairs and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, on several occasions, rejected Trump's claim of brokering a ceasefire deal between the two, after four days of cross border firing and drone strikes. The cross-border strikes paused on May 10, after both nations reached an understanding to stop all military actions.