Trump Calls on Iran and Israel to End Mutual Fire Attacks
President Donald Trump called on Israel and Iran to immediately cease hostilities after fighting between the two nations reignited over the weekend, breaking a months-long pause.
Trump issued a brief but direct message on his Truth Social platform, stating that Israel and Iran must stop shooting immediately, according to Junge Freiheit. The President offered no further elaboration on his demand.
The renewed conflict began Sunday evening when Iran launched rockets at Israel for the first time since April 8, breaking a ceasefire that had been in effect between Israel, the United States, and Iran. Simultaneously, the Houthi militia in Yemen also fired on Israeli territory. Air raid sirens sounded across major Israeli cities including Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and Haifa. By Monday midday, Israel reported a total of 24 rockets had been fired from Iranian territory.
Lebanese Strikes Trigger Iranian Response
Iran justified its attacks as retaliation for Israeli military strikes in Lebanon. On Sunday, Israel had targeted the headquarters of the Shiite Islamist Hezbollah militia in the Dahiye suburb of Beirut. Israeli officials characterized this operation as a response to prior Hezbollah rocket attacks on Israeli civilians. Hezbollah functions as an Iranian proxy militia in the region.
Following the resumption of Iranian hostilities, Israel conducted fresh strikes against targets inside Iran. According to army statements, these attacks focused on Iranian defense systems that had been recently deployed. Iranian sources reported that a petrochemical facility in the western province of Khuzestan was hit, which Israel subsequently confirmed.
Israel initially reported no major damage from the Iranian strikes. However, debris from an intercepted rocket struck an Israeli settlement in the West Bank. Authorities canceled school operations nationwide and instructed hospitals to relocate operations to underground facilities.
Trump Asserts Control Over Netanyahu
The United States and Iran have been engaged in negotiations for weeks aimed at resolving the conflict. Just before the latest escalation, Trump had emphasized in a television interview that the sides were very close to reaching an agreement. He simultaneously warned that if he could not resolve Tehran’s nuclear weapons program through negotiations, he would blow them up.
According to reports, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defied Trump’s directive not to respond to the renewed Iranian attacks. In comments to the Financial Times on Sunday, Trump made clear that he was the one determining everything, while Netanyahu had nothing to say in the matter.
The public rebuke follows earlier tensions between the two leaders. Last week, the news portal Axios reported that Trump had harshly criticized Netanyahu during a phone call regarding his actions in Lebanon, allegedly telling the Israeli leader he was damn crazy.
With information from Junge Freiheit
