{"id":615329,"date":"2026-09-05T13:30:18","date_gmt":"2026-09-05T13:30:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/615329\/"},"modified":"2026-09-05T13:30:18","modified_gmt":"2026-09-05T13:30:18","slug":"taoiseach-questions-whether-iran-wants-peace-as-trump-prepares-for-ireland-visit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/615329\/","title":{"rendered":"Taoiseach questions whether Iran wants peace as Trump prepares for Ireland visit"},"content":{"rendered":"

Taoiseach Miche\u00e1l Martin<\/a> has questioned whether the Iranian government wants a cessation of hostilities with the United States as US president Donald Trump<\/a> prepares to visit Ireland next weekend.<\/p>\n

Mr Trump is due to arrive in Ireland for a two-day visit<\/a> on Saturday, September 12.<\/p>\n

Although it will not be a formal state visit, Mr Trump is expected to meet both the Taoiseach and President Catherine Connolly<\/a> in the Phoenix Park.<\/p>\n

It had been thought that Mr Trump might travel to Ballsbridge to perform the sod-turning at the new US embassy complex there, but there is currently some doubt over whether this will happen.<\/p>\n

After his meetings with the President and the Taoiseach, the US president is expected to head to his golf club in Doonbeg, Co Clare<\/a>, where the Irish Open<\/a> tournament will finish on Sunday, September 13.<\/p>\n

Taoiseach questions Iran’s position<\/p>\n

Speaking to reporters in Kinsale on Friday, Mr Martin was asked by the Irish Examiner whether he intends to raise with Mr Trump the negative impacts on Ireland\u2019s economy of the US and Israel\u2019s war against Iran.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will obviously talk on a number of issues and our consistent view and the one we have articulated is the need for peace and a cessation of hostilities,\u201d Mr Martin said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe the US wants a cessation of hostilities. It is not clear whether the Iranian regime wants that. It is just not clear.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut it is extremely important that we do bring an end to that war and that stability and certainty can be again brought back to global energy markets, because that\u2019s affecting everybody.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"USUS president Donald Trump on the 15th hole at Trump International Golf Links & Hotel in Doonbeg, Co. Clare, during his visit to Ireland in 2023. Picture: Brian Lawless\/PA<\/p>\n

Asked whether Mr Trump would be shielded from protesters at Doonbeg, Mr Martin said normal security protocols would apply to the visit.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Irish Open is an important event, and it will have a degree of attention and profile this year that it perhaps has never had,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cDoonbeg and the people of Doonbeg are particularly welcoming of the fact that the Irish Open is there, because it has been important to the local economy and so on.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut people have the right to protest in any democracy. And as I say once it is within the norms of legitimate action and protest that is the essence of a democratic world.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

War has disrupted global energy markets<\/p>\n

The war in Iran, which has been described by Mr Trump\u2019s critics as a war of choice, was launched on February 28, when US and Israeli airstrikes killed dozens of high-ranking Iranian officials, including supreme leader Ali Khamenei and several members of his family.<\/p>\n

\"AA man holds an Iranian flag during a street celebration marking Prophet Muhammad’s birthday, with St. Sarkis Armenian Cathedral in the background, in Tehran, Sunday, Aug. 30, 2026. (AP Photo\/Vahid Salemi)<\/p>\n

The war has resulted in thousands of civilian deaths and, because of Iran\u2019s retaliatory blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, has caused the global oil market\u2019s largest-ever disruption of supply, resulting in increased fuel prices across the world.<\/p>\n

Despite the global economic turmoil caused by what his critics are describing as a \u201cforever war\u201d, Mr Trump on Friday downplayed the conflict, which has now lasted more than six months, as \u201csmall potatoes\u201d.<\/p>\n

Mr Trump\u2019s comments followed those of his vice-president, JD Vance, who had said he would not call the ongoing conflict a war.<\/p>\n

Agreeing, the US president said: \u201cI call it a military conflict because it\u2019s small potatoes for us. It\u2019s not a big thing\u201d.<\/p>\n

It is estimated that approximately 10,000 people have been killed in the war, among them a reported 20 US troops.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Taoiseach Miche\u00e1l Martin has questioned whether the Iranian government wants a cessation of hostilities with the United States…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":615330,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[185250,3656,969,61,60,1393,1843,43],"class_list":["post-615329","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-clare-news","tag-catherine-connolly","tag-donald-trump","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-irish-open","tag-micheal-martin","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/615329","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=615329"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/615329\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/615330"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=615329"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=615329"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=615329"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}