President Donald Trump on Tuesday repeated what he told Vladimir Putin after the Russian president offered to help mediate the war between Israel and Iran.
"Vladimir called me up. He said, 'Can I help you with Iran?'" Trump told reporters on Air Force One as he headed to The Hague for a NATO meeting.
"I said, 'No, I don't need help with Iran. I need help with you.'"
Outside the White House on Wednesday, Trump initially said Putin offered to mediate the Israel-Iran conflict during a phone call the day before.
"I said, 'Do me a favor, mediate your own,'" said Trump, referring to the Russia-Ukraine war. "'Let's mediate Russia first. OK?'"
On Air Force One, Trump spoke three days after ordering the U.S. military to take out three of Iran's nuclear facilities. The attack was successful, according to the president.
Putin told Iran's Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchion on Monday there was no justification for the U.S. bombing of his country and that Moscow was trying to help the Iranian people.
With Putin hosting Araqchion, Trump issued a preemptive warning against Moscow giving Tehran nuclear warheads.
"Did I hear Former President [Dmitry] Medvedev, from Russia, casually throwing around the 'N word' (Nuclear!), and saying that he and other countries would supply Nuclear Warheads to Iran?" Trump wrote in Truth Social post Monday. "Did he really say that or, is it just a figment of my imagination? If he did say that, and, if confirmed, please let me know, IMMEDIATELY."
Trump has been frustrated with Putin's resistance to engage in ceasefire talks with Ukraine.
Late last month, Moscow confirmed Putin would not attend scheduled war ceasefire talks in Turkey, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has questioned the intentions of Russia and its commitment to peace.
Just prior to that, and after Russia launched additional drone and missile strikes on Ukraine, Trump appeared to have lost patience with the Russian president, posting on Truth Social that Putin had gone "absolutely crazy!"
The Kremlin said Putin and Trump held a 50-minute phone call June 14 to discuss the escalating situation in the Middle East and Ukraine peace talks.
During the conversation, Putin briefed Trump on his recent talks with the leaders of Iran and Israel and reiterated Russia's proposal to seek mutually acceptable solutions on the Iranian nuclear issue.
Putin also congratulated Trump on his 79th birthday.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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