President Donald Trump arrived in Washington, D.C., early Monday morning, one day ahead of his scheduled return to the White House from the G7 in Canada.
Trump has ramped up pressure on Tehran to make a “deal” with the United States after Israel began striking targets inside of Iran late last week. However, he told reporters during his return flight to Joint Base Andrews that he wasn’t looking to broker a “ceasefire.”
“I’m not looking for a ceasefire. We’re looking at better than a ceasefire,” the president stated before adding that he is eying a “complete give-up” by Iran.
Asked about the possibility of Iran expanding its retaliation against Israel to include American targets in the region, Trump claimed that “they know not to touch our troops.”
“We’ll come down so hard,” he continued. “It’ll be gloves off.”
Ultimately, Trump claimed that he returned to D.C. to monitor the conflict live in the Situation Room instead of being briefed by aides via phone in Canada.
“Being on the scene is much better, and we did everything I had to do at the G7,” he suggested.
Last week, White House officials had claimed that Trump’s Special Envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, was still prepared to travel to the Middle East to negotiate with Iranian officials, but the president said Tuesday morning that he is now considering dispatching Witkoff or Vice President JD Vance.
“It depends what happens when I get back,” he told reporters. “I’m not too much in the mood to negotiate.”
TRUMP PRESSURES IRAN TO MAKE DEAL WITH US AFTER ISRAELI STRIKES
Monday evening, reports out of Israel claimed that U.S. war planes were assisting Israeli forces in carrying out strikes against Iranian targets. The Trump administration strongly denied those reports.
“American Forces are maintaining their defensive posture & that has not changed. We will protect American troops & our interests,” Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a statement that was later shared by White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.