Trump: Iran Deal Possible Within Week After Israel Fix
President Trump says a deal with Iran could come within days after he personally intervened to stop fighting between Israel and Hezbollah that threatened ongoing U.S.-Iran negotiations.
Trump revealed in a phone interview with ABC News that diplomatic talks with the Islamic Republic are looking good after what he characterized as a brief disruption caused by Iranian fury over intensifying Israeli military operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon, according to Breitbart News.
The president told ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent Jonathan Karl there had been a minor setback earlier in the day, but he managed to resolve it swiftly through personal diplomacy with both sides of the conflict.
The disruption centered on Iranian demands that Israel’s military campaign against Hezbollah be incorporated into both the existing ceasefire structure and any future deal currently under negotiation between Washington and Tehran, as Breitbart News reports.
Trump stated he spoke directly with Hezbollah representatives and instructed them to cease fire, while simultaneously contacting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whom he referred to as Bibi, with the same message. Both parties complied and halted their attacks.
The president’s intervention came as rapidly mounting tensions throughout Monday risked undermining fragile negotiations surrounding a proposed 60-day memorandum of understanding designed to extend the ceasefire, reopen the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz, and establish a framework for wider discussions on Iran’s nuclear program.
Earlier on Monday, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency, which maintains close ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, reported that Tehran had frozen indirect communications with the United States through intermediaries in response to what it described as Israel’s expanding military campaign in Lebanon.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, a key figure in the negotiations, warned that the ceasefire between Iran and the United States encompassed all theaters of conflict, including Lebanon, and cautioned that Washington and Jerusalem would face serious consequences for any violations.
Simultaneously, Israel appeared prepared to dramatically intensify operations against Hezbollah after the terror group launched fresh rocket and drone attacks deeper into northern Israel, targeting Haifa-area communities, Safed, Kiryat Shmona, and other civilian areas.
Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz issued a joint statement Monday threatening airstrikes in Beirut’s Hezbollah-dominated Dahiyeh district following what they characterized as repeated ceasefire violations by the Iranian-backed terrorist organization.
The Israel Defense Forces subsequently issued an Arabic-language evacuation alert to residents in portions of southern Beirut as reports emerged that Israel was preparing significant strikes against Hezbollah infrastructure in the Lebanese capital.
Axios later disclosed that Trump held a tense conversation with Netanyahu amid concerns that a major Israeli assault on Beirut could destroy the already-delicate negotiations with Tehran, with the president reportedly urging Israel to refrain from significantly escalating operations in Lebanon as Iran threatened to suspend talks and increase pressure around the Strait of Hormuz and other regional fronts.
Trump subsequently announced on Truth Social that he had personally intervened to stop the escalation, thanking Netanyahu for reversing course and turning his troops around after requesting Israel not proceed with a major raid of Beirut.
The president added that he had also communicated with representatives of Hezbollah leadership, claiming the terror group consented to halt attacks on Israel while Israel likewise agreed to cease fire. Trump expressed hope the pause would endure permanently.
Netanyahu later clarified that Israel would still conduct strikes against Hezbollah targets in Beirut if attacks on Israeli civilians persisted, telling Trump in an evening conversation that Israel’s position remained unchanged regarding the right to strike terrorist targets if Hezbollah continued assaulting Israeli cities and civilians.
In a separate Truth Social post earlier Monday, Trump insisted negotiations with Tehran were advancing at a rapid pace despite contradictory signals throughout the day regarding the status of discussions.
Earlier in the day, Trump told CNBC he was indifferent to whether negotiations collapsed, describing the discussions as very boring, while separately telling NBC News that going silent would be beneficial after reports surfaced that Iran was threatening to freeze discussions.
With information from Breitbart News
