Beirut strike sparks Trump criticism of Israel
Donald Trump (photo: Getty Images)
US President Donald Trump has criticized an Israeli strike on Beirut at a time when Washington and Iran are close to a peace agreement, stressing that further attacks should not take place.
"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," Trump wrote in Truth Social.
He emphasized that Israel has the right to defend itself from threats, but called the retaliatory strike "very small and meaningless." According to Trump, no one was injured in the Israeli attack, so it should not interfere with efforts to reach an agreement with Iran.
The US leader added that the sides are very close to an agreement to bring peace to the Middle East, including Lebanon, and stressed that all parties must halt military operations.
"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!" Trump concluded.
Background
On Saturday, June 13, Donald Trump announced that the United States and Iran could sign a memorandum of understanding as early as June 14. The framework document would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, extend a ceasefire for 60 days, and use that period to negotiate a final peace agreement.
However, the Iranian Foreign Ministry denied that the agreement would be signed on June 14, while not ruling out that it could still happen in the near future.
Earlier today, it became known that Israel carried out airstrikes on a Hezbollah-controlled district in Beirut, just before the expected signing of a ceasefire-related agreement between the United States.
Notable that Iran had previously threatened to end the ceasefire regime if Israel attacked Lebanon. As a result, amid mutual Israeli-Hezbollah strikes, difficulties began emerging in US–Iran negotiations. Following today's strike, signals have already emerged from the Iranian side suggesting the agreement could be at risk of collapse.
