Trump: Chance of ‘Massive Conflict’ Between Israel and Iran (Q&A)

President Trump delivers remarks after a bill signing ceremony at the White House.

President Donald Trump said he may raise US auto tariffs in order to boost domestic auto manufacturing, a move that could further ratchet up tensions with trading partners.

Trump spoke Thursday at a signing ceremony for legislation terminating California regulations that would have banned the sale of gasoline-powered cars in 2035 — a long-sought victory for some carmakers and oil companies that attacked the rules as unachievable.

The president said raising auto tariffs from their current 25% level could offer further protection for the domestic auto industry, citing General Motors Co.’s plan to invest $4 billion in US plants over the next two years in order to avoid paying duties.

“I might go up with that tariff in the not too distant future. The higher you go, the more likely it is they build a plant here,” the president said.

Shares of GM, Ford Motor Co. and Jeep-maker Stellantis NV touched session lows as Trump spoke at the White House. GM’s stock was down 1.5% as of 12:32 p.m. in New York, while Ford fell 1.7% and Stellantis slid 1.9%

The president’s latest threat comes more than a week after he doubled steel and aluminum tariffs to 50%, and as he faces negotiations with dozens of trading before his July 9 deadline for higher duties to take effect.

Nations, including Japan and Germany, have sought in negotiations to find a way Trump’s auto levies, which threaten to batter vital industries.

The measures signed Thursday in the East Room of the White House revoke California clean air policies, including requirements that carmakers sell electric vehicles in greater numbers each year in the state.

President Donald Trump said Israel “could very well” strike Iran but that he had advised against an attack while negotiations were ongoing, as the departure of US staff from the region fans concerns about a coming assault.

“I don’t want to say imminent, but it looks like it’s something that could very well happen,” Trump told reporters at an event Thursday at the White House.

In recent days, Trump has said he is less confident the US will reach a deal with Iran to curb its nuclear ambitions in exchange for sanctions relief. The president has repeatedly said that while he wants a diplomatic solution, he does not want Tehran to acquire nuclear weapons and warned the US could resort to military action if a deal is not reached.

Special envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to travel to Muscat on Sunday for the sixth round of nuclear talks with Iran, according to a person familiar. But Trump has said that Iran is driving a hard bargain, and resisting demands to fully abandon nuclear enrichment efforts.

“We are fairly close to a pretty good agreement. It’s got to be better than pretty good, though, but it’s got to be — I prefer an agreement, as long as I think there is an agreement, I don’t want them going in, because I think that would blow it,” Trump said.

In a sign of the increasingly tense situation, the US ordered some staff to leave its embassy in Baghdad, officials said, after Iran threatened to strike American assets in the region if it is attacked over its nuclear program.

The State Department also said US government employees and family members in Israel are restricted from traveling outside major cities such as Tel Aviv and Jerusalem until further notice.

“Look, there’s a chance of massive conflict,” Trump said. “We have a lot of American people in this area, and I said, we’ve got to tell them to get out, because something could happen soon, and I don’t want to be the one that didn’t give any warning and missiles are flying.”

Earlier in the day, Iran said it would inaugurate a new uranium-enrichment facility in response to a decision by the United Nations atomic watchdog to censure the Islamic Republic over its nuclear program.

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