Trump slams Israeli PM Netanyahu over Beirut strike, says US-Iran peace deal in ‘hours’ | Today’s news
US President Donald Trump on Sunday attacked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the Beirut attack, saying it temporarily delayed progress on a potential US-Iran peace deal, which he said remains on track to be signed in the next few hours, according to Axios.
He said: “It’s so bad – I couldn’t believe it. We should have signed the contract an hour before.”
“It shook it up. It delayed the signing by a few hours. It was supposed to be now. Now it’s scheduled in a few hours,” Trump said in a phone call to news website Axios.
Tehran has consistently argued that any deal aimed at ending the war must also address a parallel conflict in Lebanon, where Israel is conducting operations against the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement, according to AFP.
But after days of growing optimism around a possible deal, Sunday’s strike in the southern suburbs of Beirut, a stronghold of Hezbollah, left Iran’s chief negotiator questioning the value of continuing peace talks.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said in response to the attack on X that it “showed that the United States either lacks the will to fulfill its obligations or lacks the ability to do so.”
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He went on to say: “If you don’t have the will or the ability to fulfill your obligations, then there is no point in talking about continuing this journey.”
Trump, who has repeatedly suggested during weeks of negotiations that the Iran deal was close to being done, said after the attack that a deal remained within reach and urged all parties not to “blow it up.”
In a post on social media, he said: “We are very close to an agreement that will bring peace to the region, including Lebanon, and all parties should withdraw.”
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Referring to the strike, Trump added: “This morning’s attack on Beirut should not have happened, especially on a special day,” possibly alluding to his expectation that the deal could be signed on Sunday, his 80th birthday.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also expressed confidence that the Israeli strike would not derail progress towards a deal.
“I don’t expect the ‘attack’ to disrupt” the negotiations, he said, adding: “As far as I know, we’re on the right track. It’s not a question of if. It’s a question of when.”
A previous Israeli strike on the outskirts of Beirut triggered one of the most serious violations of the April ceasefire, prompting Iran to launch retaliatory missile fire, followed by Israeli counterstrikes.
What did Iran say?
Iranian Brigadier General Mohammad Jafar Asadi warned on Sunday that the latest Israeli attack “will not go unanswered”.
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In a sign that diplomatic efforts remain alive, Iran’s president said on Sunday that the country’s top security authority continued to support talks despite opposition from hardliners.
“The Supreme National Security Council has concluded that the path of dialogue should be continued,” President Masoud Pezeshkian said, stressing that the council is responsible for “decisions regarding war and negotiations.”
Israel after the Beirut strike
Meanwhile, according to AFP, Israel’s military said it was “preparing for potential fire toward the territory of the State of Israel in the coming hours.”
“Following the IDF strike in Beirut, the IDF is preparing for potential fire toward the territory of the State of Israel in the coming hours,” the military said, without specifying where the attack was likely to come from.
