President Donald Trump is issuing a stark warning to Iran against retaliating against U.S. targets in the Middle East while also predicting Israel and Iran would “soon” make a deal to end their escalating conflict.

Amid ongoing strikes between Israel and Iran, Trump is publicly and privately making clear his desire to keep the United States out of the fray for now.

Aerial attacks between Israel and Iran continued overnight into Sunday, marking a third day of strikes following Israel’s Friday attack. That surprise strike hit the heart of the Iran's nuclear program, killing several nuclear scientists as well as high-ranking military leaders, according to Israeli officials.

The Israeli military struck "over 170 targets" in Iran in three days, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Sunday.

The Israeli military said it killed nine senior scientists and experts who played a role in Iran’s nuclear program in strikes Friday. Israel says Iran intends to build a nuclear weapon, and is quite close to being able to.

President Donald Trump said Sunday that the U.S. is not involved in Israel's military strikes, but "it's possible we could get involved."

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Donald Trump vetoed an Israeli plan in recent days to kill the Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, two U.S. officials told Reuters on Sunday.

Despite evidence that the conflict between Israel and Iran is escalating, U.S. President Donald Trump expressed optimism on Sunday that peace would come soon and cited the possibility that Russia's Vladimir Putin could help.

The Israeli military said it hit an Iranian refueling aircraft at Mashhad airport in eastern Iran. It said it was the longest-range strike it has conducted since the beginning of the operation at 2,300 kilometers from Israel.