Israeli strikes on Beirut foil US peace plans, Iran says ‘no point’ in talks
Israel struck Beirut’s southern suburbs on Sunday, an attack US President Donald Trump said ‘should not have happened’
US President Donald Trump on Sunday urged no further attacks by anyone after Israel’s military said it launched strikes on Hezbollah targets in Beirut, potentially complicating efforts to finalise a deal to end the US-Iran war. As smoke rose over the Lebanese capital, Lebanese Civil Defense said it retrieved three bodies and six wounded people from the rubble.
Iran threatened a military response, with the foreign ministry saying it holds the US directly responsible for Israel’s ceasefire breaches. Trump wrote on social media that “the attack on Beirut should not have happened”.
“We are very close to a Deal that will bring peace to the region,” Trump wrote, adding: “Let’s not blow it!”
Commenting on the attack on social media, an adviser to Iran’s Supreme leader wrote: “Zero hour is upon us, launches are being readied.”
The deal in its current form is a deep disappointment to Israel’s government, which has been sidelined in negotiations led by Pakistan and others. The last time Israel struck the Beirut suburbs a week ago, it set off the most serious escalation of fighting between Iran and Israel since the tenuous ceasefire took hold on April 7.
Trump, who had said the deal could be signed on Sunday, has pressed Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu to stop hitting Lebanon hard while a deal is near but the prime minister has defied him.