In a surprise development amid intensifying Middle Eastern and Eastern European crises, US President Donald Trump revealed that Russian President Vladimir Putin personally called him on June 14 to wish him a happy 79th birthday and to discuss urgent geopolitical matters, chiefly the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran, as well as the war in Ukraine. The hour-long phone conversation, as confirmed by both Trump and the Kremlin, offered a rare window into continued high-level engagement between two of the world’s most polarizing political figures.

According to a post Trump made on Truth Social, the president emphasized that the main topic of discussion was Iran, which he said Putin “knows very well.” The call came just a day after an unprecedented escalation in the Middle East: Israeli strikes on June 13 reportedly killed Major General Hossein Salami, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and Major General Mohammad Bagheri, chief of staff of the Iranian Armed Forces. The strikes also claimed the lives of several nuclear scientists, triggering a fierce response from Tehran.

In retaliation, Iran launched dozens of ballistic missiles into Israeli territory, some of which breached the country’s Iron Dome defense systems, according to local and regional sources. The spiraling violence has raised alarms about a potential full-scale war between the two nations, with broader implications for the region and the world.

Trump noted that both he and Putin agreed the Iran-Israel conflict “should end,” although he also used the opportunity to remind Putin that his own “war should also end,” referencing........

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