U.S. President Donald Trump has called on Iran and Israel to reach a peace deal, even as the two countries continue to attack each other. He also suggested that they might need to go through more fighting before any agreement can happen.

Speaking to reporters at the White House before leaving for the G7 summit in Canada, Trump said the time had come for a deal. However, he also added that sometimes fighting has to happen first before peace is possible.

The recent violence between Iran and Israel marks a major change. For years, they fought through secret operations or used other groups to do the fighting. Now, they are directly hitting each other with missile strikes, and many experts fear this could lead to a bigger war in the Middle East.

The latest conflict started on Friday, when Israel carried out several attacks. These strikes reportedly killed top Iranian military officers and nuclear scientists. Israel also hit military bases, nuclear sites, and even residential areas.

When reporters asked if he told Israel to stop its attacks, Trump chose not to answer the question.

A senior U.S. official later shared that Trump had stopped an Israeli plan to assassinate Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

On his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump said again that he thinks peace is possible between Iran and Israel. He mentioned that many meetings and calls are already happening. Trump added that he hopes both countries can come to an agreement soon.