Trump and Mediators Press Iran to Hold Back as Israel Warns of Wider Response

Israel’s political-security cabinet met Sunday evening in a bunker amid preparations for an Iranian response, while Jerusalem’s stated position is that if Iran retaliates, Israel will too. The confrontation with President Donald Trump is now seen in Israel as more significant than the last one, as regional states try to prevent another round of strikes after the Israeli attack in Beirut’s Dahieh district.

Israel struck Dahieh after several rockets were launched at Israel from Lebanon earlier in the day. Iranian officials threatened to respond against Israel, but also warned the strikes could jeopardize the ceasefire agreement expected to be signed later Sunday between Washington and Tehran. The speaker of Iran’s parliament said the attack showed that the United States either lacks the will to honor its commitments or the ability to do so, and threatened to halt the negotiations.

Trump publicly rebuked Israel, writing on Truth that the Beirut strike “should not have happened,” especially on a day when the U.S. was “so close” to a peace deal with Iran. He said Israel had the right to defend itself, but added that the attack it answered was “small and insignificant,” with no casualties, and said all sides should step back. In an interview with Fox, Trump said he had spoken with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and told him, “What the hell are you doing?!”

A senior Israeli source told CNN that Israel informed U.S. Central Command before the Beirut strike. Still, Trump said he did not want to see Israeli strikes anywhere in Lebanon. The tension follows a similar episode a week ago, when Israel struck Dahieh despite Trump’s wishes, Iran fired missiles at Israel for the first time since the ceasefire, and Trump helped calm the situation within a day. Israeli sources also described a shouted call between Trump and Netanyahu, with Trump reportedly calling Netanyahu “crazy” and saying, “Without me you’d be in jail.”