The US president warned Prime Minister Netanyahu that if the attacks continue even after Israel and Iran cease fighting, he will take action on his own.
Just hours after US President Donald Trump claimed a peace deal with Iran was on the horizon, Israel attacked Tire in southern Lebanon, killing at least eight people and forcing thousands to flee.
The Israeli military issued a new eviction order for Tire on Tuesday, ordering entire areas of the city, including for the first time Christian neighborhoods where many displaced people have taken refuge, to immediately evacuate before launching deadly attacks.
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There have been repeated attacks in Taia in recent days, leaving five people dead and four paramedics among the injured on Monday. At least nine people were killed in Israeli attacks across Lebanon on Monday.
President Trump said he was in the “last throes of a very good deal” in the wake of serious tensions between Israel and Iran that ended on Monday.
President Trump told reporters late Monday that the Strait of Hormuz would open “immediately upon signing,” adding that it could take two or three days.
He added that the US could “very easily” spend another two or three weeks bombing and leave Iran with nothing, but that would delay opening the strait. He argued that the U.S. naval blockade against Iran “proved to be far more powerful than bombing” in forcing Iran to agree.
The latest escalation was triggered by Israel’s Beirut shelling on Sunday, which led Iran to fire missiles into northern Israel. Israel launched an attack on Iran early Monday, even though President Trump reportedly called Prime Minister Netanyahu and asked him not to retaliate. The US president said in a meeting with the Israeli prime minister that the missiles were “already in the air.”
Israeli forces attacked Iranian air defense systems and a petrochemical plant, and Iran retaliated by attacking similar facilities in Haifa and targeting two Israeli air bases.
Trump told Axios that he warned Netanyahu to “be careful or you’ll be on your own soon.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a televised statement on Monday that he had told President Trump that “Israel has the full right of self-defense and we will use it if necessary.”
Iran and Israel announced on Monday they were halting attacks, but Israel said it would continue to target southern Lebanon. Defense Minister Israel Katz said the military would continue fighting Hezbollah and attack Beirut’s southern suburbs in response to attacks on northern Israel.
Hezbollah announced that it had carried out an operation against Israeli forces that had invaded the country, including near Beaufort Castle.
Iran has made clear that any agreement with the United States must include an end to the fighting in Lebanon. On Monday, the country warned that “more severe and repressive measures” would be taken if the invasion continued.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghai said the United States was “directly responsible” for the escalation.
“They are parties to the ceasefire negotiations. Therefore, any violation of the ceasefire, whether through the interception of ships, Israel’s targeting of southern Lebanon, or other events, makes the United States directly responsible for escalation in the region.”
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian posted on X that Iran was still “at the negotiating table,” while Iranian Ambassador to the United Nations Amir Saeed Iravani said the United States and Iran were “presenting and exchanging views” toward an agreement through Pakistan’s mediation.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry announced on Tuesday that the overall death toll from Israeli military attacks had risen to 3,666 since March 2, with another 11,321 injured.
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said on Monday that since April 16, when a so-called ceasefire was agreed between Israel and Lebanon, Israel has carried out some 3,500 airstrikes, 407 destructions and six “demolition” operations (which destroyed entire villages).
