President Trump said on Sunday that an Israeli attack on the southern suburbs of Lebanon’s capital, Beirut, “should not have happened,” as Iranian officials maintain a real ceasefire in Lebanon is key to any kind of agreement with the US.
Israel’s strike on Dahiyeh came one week after Iran bombed northern Israel in response to Israel’s previous attack on the suburb, and Iranian officials are vowing there will be another response to Sunday’s strike. Israeli officials said that the latest attack on Dahiyeh was a response to Hezbollah drones targeting northern Israel, which Trump downplayed.
“This morning’s attack on Beirut should not have happened, particularly on a special day when we are so close to a Peace Deal with Iran. Israel has the right to defend itself against threats, but the attack it was responding to was very small and meaningless, nobody was hurt, injured, or killed, and should not disrupt this important process,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“We are very close to a Deal that will bring peace to the region, including to Lebanon, and all sides should stand down. There should be no more attacks by Israel anywhere in Lebanon, but there should also be no more attacks by any other party, including Hezbollah, against Israel. This could be the beginning of a long and beautiful peace — Let’s not blow it!” the president added.
Trump has claimed several times now that some sort of ceasefire was reached in Lebanon, but the IDF has continued its occupation and destruction campaign in southern Lebanon, which has included heavy airstrikes. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s parliament, said on Sunday that the latest Israeli strike on Dahiyeh shows the US lacks either the will or the ability to rein in Israel.
“The Zionists’ incursion into Dahiyeh has once again shown that America either lacks the will to fulfill its commitments or the ability to do so. By giving the green light to the regime, you cannot gain concessions,” Ghalibaf wrote on X. “The game of bad cop and good cop is outdated. If you lack the will and ability to fulfill your commitments, speaking of continuing the path is not possible.”
Trump later told Fox News that he would ask Iran not to respond to the Israeli attack on Beirut and claimed a deal could be signed with Iran within the next few hours, though Iranian officials have denied the idea that an agreement was going to be signed on Sunday. According to media reports, the potential deal on the table is a Memorandum of Understanding that would essentially bring the region into a ceasefire that was supposed to be established under the initial truce between the US and Iran, then other issues, including Iran’s nuclear program, would be discussed in further negotiations.
Trump also claimed in his comments to Fox that he asked Netanyahu “what the fu*k are you doing?” but according to US and Israeli officials speaking to Axios, Israel notified US Central Command before the strike on Dahhiyeh, and there’s no sign he’s willing to impose any real consequences on Israel for the strike, such as cutting off military aid or support for the war in Lebanon.
Lebanese officials said that at least three people were killed by the strike in Dahiyeh, while Israeli officials claim a senior Hezbollah commander was killed, which so far hasn’t been confirmed. Netanyahu posted a video of the strike, showing a building being hit as cars were driving by.
