The president said he hasn’t reached out to Iran for peace talks, describing reports as “highly fabricated, fake news.” “If they want to talk, they know how to reach me,” Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform.

No announcement yet on Iran … but Playbook has the goods on where Trump might be headed. — Meet the hawkish Middle East general who’s won the ear of the Trump administration. — How DNI Tulsi Gabbard fell out of favor with the White House at a critical moment.

China warned the Iran-Israel conflict may spread wider instability in the Middle East, with Foreign Minister Wang Yi reaching out to both countries as their days-old conflict shows no end in sight.

Speaking to pilgrims at the end of a special Jubilee audience June 14, the pope expressed deep concern over the “seriously deteriorating” situation in the Middle East, warning of the consequences of further escalation. “I want to strongly renew an appeal to responsibility and reason,” he said.