Fresh Israeli strikes cast shadow over emerging US-Iran peace agreement
US President Donald Trump on Sunday played down Israeli strikes on Lebanon but said that it and Iran should refrain from such attacks with a deal to end the war in Iran potentially close at hand.
“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,” Trump posted on his social media site.
Trump previously suggested that a deal to end the war could be signed on Sunday, but hasn’t provided further details on where things stand since.
The Israeli military launched strikes on Hezbollah targets in Beirut on Sunday. Smoke could be seen rising over the Lebanese capital.
The strikes threatened to hamper negotiations over a deal, which in its current form is a deep disappointment to Israel’s Government. 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 April 7.
Iran’s parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf warned on X that Israel’s strikes on Beirut’s suburbs show that “America either lacks the will to fulfil its commitments or the ability to do so.” He warned that the strikes could imperil the final stage of negotiations.
Qatari mediators travelled to Tehran on Sunday to finalise the agreement, according to two regional officials.
The officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media, expressed cautious optimism that the US and Iran were finally approaching an agreement that could halt hostilities that have killed thousands of people and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, whose closure has thrown world markets into disarray. The deal is expected to be signed electronically, without an in-person ceremony, though it’s unclear when or how the signing will take place.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the strikes were in response to Hezbollah attacks on the north of the country. Israel’s military said earlier in the day that Hezbollah had launched three projectiles into northern Israel, releasing footage where an audible boom was followed by a column of smoke rising above the tree line.
Iran wants a ceasefire deal to include the fighting in Lebanon and seeks the release of billions of dollars in frozen funds. But as talks continued, Israel has been sidelined in negotiations led by Pakistan and others. “Israel will not tolerate firing into its territory,” a statement from Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz said Sunday. Trump has pressed Netanyahu to stop hitting Lebanon hard while a deal is near, but the prime minister has defied him.
