“I don’t want to talk about that.”
So declared President Donald Trump during a recent appearance at the G7 meeting in Canada, specifically with regards to what would have to occur in order for the American military to become embroiled in another conflict in the Middle East.
Frankly, it is a tad frightening for that topic to feature so prominently at a G7 conference.
After all, most Americans do not appear terribly keen on becoming embroiled in war – especially in the Middle East – following decades of a questionable “War on Terror.”
No doubt the G7 is leery too, as many of their young soldiers would inevitably be drawn into the conflicts as well.
Which is precisely why Iran has now surged to the forefront of G7 discussions.
According to a report from The Hill, representatives from G7 nations met in Canada to discuss tariffs and the ongoing trade war, and, given recent developments, the ongoing situation between Iran and Israel.
The G7 presently consists of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, while the European Union (EU) enjoys status as a “non-enumerated member.”
Every single nation listed has a direct interest in Trump’s current approach to tariffs, and every single nation also may well have a clear interest in whichever developments happen in the Middle East … given the impact such developments have on global markets.
To be sure, Trump’s “I don’t want to talk about that” remark is especially frightening in light of remarks he had made just a day or so before.
“We’re not involved in it. It’s possible we could get involved. But we are not at this moment involved,” Trump opined when asked about whether or not the United States was involved in the Israel-Iran conflict.
At the time, The Hill also observed that the Pentagon “attempted to quickly distance itself from the strikes,” especially as the strikes reportedly “killed some of Iran’s top military leaders.”
However, Secretary of State Marco Rubio made it rather clear that the United States did not exactly disapprove of the Israeli strikes either.
“Tonight, Israel took unilateral action against Iran. We are not involved in strikes against Iran and our top priority is protecting American forces in the region … Israel advised us that they believe this action was necessary for its self-defense. President Trump and the Administration have taken all necessary steps to protect our forces and remain in close contact with our regional partner,” Rubio proclaimed in a statement, per a separate report from The Hill.
The same report also cited a recent statement from the Israeli military, which made it clear that the Iranian regime is “closer than ever” to developing a nuclear weapon.
“Today, Iran is closer than ever to obtaining a nuclear weapon. Weapons of mass destruction in the hands of the Iranian regime are an existential threat to the State of Israel and to the wider world. The State of Israel has no choice but to fulfill the obligation to act in defense of its citizens and will continue to do so everywhere it is required to do so, as we have done in the past,” the statement proclaimed.
That said, Trump is apparently “open” to serving as a mediator between the two warring nations.
“I would be open to it. [Putin] is ready. He called me about it. We had a long talk about it. We talked about this more than his situation. This is something I believe is going to get resolved,” Trump asserted.
For the rest of the world’s sake, one can only hope that a sound – and lasting – agreement is struck.
Author: Jane Jones
