(Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday urged Iran to make a deal over its nuclear programme, saying that there was still time for the country to prevent further conflict with Israel. "There
Trump Calls for Iran to Negotiate Amid Escalating Israeli Attacks
(Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump urged Iran on Friday to make a deal on its nuclear program before it faced more attacks from Israel that he said would be "even more brutal."
"There has already been great death and destruction, but there is still time to make this slaughter, with the next already planned attacks being even more brutal, come to an end," Trump said in a post on his social media platform.
"Iran must make a deal, before there is nothing left."
Israel launched an array of strikes against dozens of Iranian targets on Friday, hitting nuclear facilities, ballistic missile factories and military commanders during the start of an operation to prevent Tehran from building a nuclear weapon.
Israel said it had struck Iranian nuclear targets to block Tehran from developing atomic weapons, even as the Trump administration was preparing to hold a sixth round of talks on Sunday on Tehran's escalating uranium enrichment program.
Trump said Friday he had given Tehran a 60-day ultimatum, which expired on Thursday, to make a deal. He encouraged Tehran to take advantage of a "second chance."
Amid his push for diplomacy, the U.S. president praised Israel's attacks in brief telephone interviews with television outlets early Friday.
"I think it's been excellent," Trump told ABC News in an interview. "And there's more to come. A lot more."
Trump told CNN that "The people I was dealing with are dead, the hardliners."
Trump is scheduled to attend a security meeting at the White House at 11 a.m. (1500 GMT)
(Reporting by Susan Heavey and Doina Chiacu in Washington; Mrinmay Dey in Bengaluru; Editing by Alex Richardson and Chizu Nomiyama)
