Trump says talks on Mideast peace deal are in “final throes”
President Trump said Tuesday that negotiators were in the “final throes” of talks for a peace deal in the Middle East, after Iran and Israel said they were halting fresh hostilities that threatened to reignite the months-long war.
Mr. Trump has repeatedly said a peace agreement with Tehran is imminent, but diplomacy has stalled and the two sides have traded fire despite a ceasefire in place since April 8.
Iran and Israel “were going back and forth and now they both agreed through me to stop and we’re in the final throes of what will be a very, very good deal,” Mr. Trump told reporters after attending the third game of the NBA Finals at New York’s Madison Square Garden.
Asked whether it would be matter of days or weeks, he said it would take “two or three days.”
Tehran has repeatedly said any deal must include Lebanon — where Israel has been pressing its war with Iran-backed Hezbollah — and fired missiles at Israel on Sunday.
That prompted Israeli retaliation, despite U.S. pressure for restraint.
Iran fired another salvo before announcing it was ceasing military action, and hours later Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that the “fire on that front is contained.”
Tehran said on Monday it would attack again if Israel persisted with its strikes in Lebanon, while Netanyahu warned in turn that should Iran “make the mistake of resuming attacks against us, we will respond with full force.”
By AFP
Trump says pilots of U.S. chopper that went down near Strait of Hormuz are fine
A U.S. Army Apache attack helicopter crashed near the Strait of Hormuz, and President Trump said its two pilots were “fine” after the incident involving the waterway that remains under a chokehold by Iran.
The crash’s cause remained unclear Tuesday morning in the Middle East, which was still reeling after Iran and Israel exchanged fire the previous day in the biggest strain yet on the nominal ceasefire in the Iran war.
Iranian state media, relying on foreign reporting, acknowledged crash, without elaborating.
Mr. Trump spoke to journalists at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York after attending Game Three of the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden on Monday night.
“The pilots are fine. Yeah,” he said. “Nobody injured. We are going to issue a report tomorrow. But the pilots are fine.”
The New York Times was first to report that a U.S. helicopter had gone down near the strait, in unclear circumstances.
By The Associated Press
Trump says U.S. will “declare total victory” in 2 weeks
President Trump predicted the U.S. would be able to “declare total victory” over Iran within the next two weeks, saying Iranian negotiators are “willing to give us everything.”
“You’re really gonna win this over the next two weeks when we declare total victory. It’ll be a total victory, it will happen very soon, and oil prices will come tumbling down,” the president said during a Monday evening tele-rally for GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham and gubernatorial candidate Pamela Evette, both of South Carolina.
Mr. Trump has frequently made sweeping predictions that the U.S.-Iran conflict could wrap up in a matter of weeks, starting when the war began in late February. It is unclear, however, where negotiations between the two countries stand.
By Sara Cook, Joe Walsh
Trump spoke to Netanyahu again this morning
President Trump spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday morning, a White House official confirmed to CBS News.
It was the second phone call in two days between the U.S. and Israeli leaders, as Mr. Trump urged Iran and Israel to halt their exchange of fire over the weekend. Early Monday, Mr. Trump posted on Truth Social that the two countries “must immediately stop ‘shooting.'”
In an interview with Axios, Mr. Trump said he informed Netanyahu that several countries in the region wanted Israel to halt its strikes on Iran, and that Iran — which had launched missiles at Israel — “called us and said that they are not doing any more attacks and asked us to tell Israel not to do any more attacks.” He said he also warned the Israeli leader: “Bibi, you better be careful, or you will be on your own very soon.”
Both countries said later Monday they had halted their military operations.
By Sara Cook, Joe Walsh
5 killed in Israeli strike in Lebanon, Health Ministry says
An Israeli strike in the southern Lebanon city of Tyre on Monday killed five people and wounded eight, the Health Ministry said, as Israel said it would continue strikes despite Iranian threats.
The Health Ministry said four of those killed were Red Cross paramedics.
CBS/AFP
Iran’s U.N. envoy hopes U.S.-Iran talks will conclude by end of June
Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations said Monday that Iran and the U.S. are still working to negotiate a peace deal.
After speaking at a U.N. Security Council meeting, Amir Saeid Iravani told The Associated Press he was hopeful that “very soon” the two sides would reach “a conclusion.”
Does he think this is going to happen by the end of the month? “We hope so. We hope so,” Iravani replied.
He stressed that the ceasefire was comprehensive and applied to the region, including Lebanon, which Israel rejects. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Israel will continue striking Lebanon’s Hezbollah militants on Monday, even as it backed off of further strikes with Iran.
By The Associated Press
Poland seizes major heroin shipment from Iran
Polish authorities said Monday they had seized over a metric ton of heroin from Iran hidden in a shipment of decorative bricks at the Baltic port of Gdynia.
“This is the largest operation of its kind in over a decade,” Interior Minister Marcin Kierwinski said at a news conference.
The drugs, worth 220 million zlotys ($59.8 million), were concealed in the brick shipment coming from the United Arab Emirates, and were first flagged by British customs officials.
The drugs originated from Iran, Chief of Police Marek Boron said.
CBS/AFP
Israel says schools will reopen following Iranian missile attacks
Israel’s Education Ministry said on Monday that schools would reopen throughout the country the following day, after a one-day closure put in place because of Iranian missile attacks.
“In accordance with the updated directives of the Home Front Command, studies will resume tomorrow in all educational institutions throughout the country and will take place in full, in-person and within the regular educational frameworks,” the ministry wrote in a statement.
Classes in several northern communities along the Lebanese border will only be allowed to resume if they are held next to a protected space, the ministry added, due to the risk of incoming projectiles from the Iran-backed Hezbollah.
By AFP
U.S. fighter jet fired on tanker allegedly violating blockade, Central Command says
A U.S. fighter jet fired on an empty tanker in the Gulf of Oman on Monday that allegedly violated the blockade against Iran by trying to sail to an Iranian port, U.S. Central Command said.
An F/A-18 Super Hornet from the USS Abraham Lincoln fired a precision munition into the engineering and steering spaces of the Palau-flagged M/T Marivex, Central Command said in a statement.
The incident happened after the Marivex’s crew failed to comply with directions from U.S. forces, Central Command said.
“Marivex is no longer sailing to Iran,” Central Command said.
Earlier, the Forward Seaman’s Union of India told CBS News the crew were uninjured and evacuating from the ship.
Lebanese Red Cross says 4 rescuers wounded in Israeli strike on Tyre
The Lebanese Red Cross said an Israeli strike wounded four rescuers near the group’s center in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre.
In a statement, the Red Cross said “the targeting that occurred in front of the Lebanese Red Cross center in Tyre” wounded four paramedics.
Lebanese state media had earlier reported an Israeli strike on a vehicle in front of the facility.
CBS/AFP
Trump calls Netanyahu after Israel and Iran trade strikes
President Trump called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, a White House official told AFP, after the first exchanges of fire between Israel and Iran since a ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran came into effect in early April.
The call came amid reports of an increasingly testy relationship between the U.S. leader and Netanyahu, with Mr. Trump calling his ally “f****ng crazy” during another recent phone call between the two, according to Axios.
After Israel struck targets in southern Beirut, Iran fired missiles at Israel overnight and Israel then responded by targeting Iranian military sites, sparking fears of a return to a full-scale conflict.
But soon after Mr. Trump wrote early Monday that Israel and Iran were “looking to do an immediate CEASEFIRE!” and called on them to stop “shooting,” in a post on Truth Social, Iran announced that it was halting military operations — contingent on Israel stopping attacks on southern Lebanon.
Israel later vowed to continue its war against Hezbollah in Lebanon and dismissed the Iranian regime’s linking of the two battles.
A White House official confirmed to AFP that Mr. Trump and Netanyahu spoke Monday, without giving any details of the conversation.
CBS/AFP
Netanyahu says Israel has stopped attacks on Iran and Hezbollah
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that Israel had stopped its attacks on both Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon, after the Iranian military announced it was halting operations.
In a brief statement Monday, Netanyahu said “Iran and Hezbollah are weaker than ever, and we are stronger than ever – but our struggle with them is not over yet.”
Having bombarded both adversaries, he added, “right now, the fire has been halted.”
“If the terrorist regime in Iran makes the mistake and attacks us again,” he said, “we will respond forcefully.”
“Israel has a full right to self-defense,” he said, “and I say this with appreciation and respect in my good conversations with my friend President Trump.”
After Mr. Trump urged both Iran and Israel to “immediately stop ‘shooting'” earlier in the day, Iran’s military said it was halting operations, as long as Israel stopped its strikes, including on southern Lebanon.
The pause in fighting comes after the biggest flare-up between Iran and Israel since a ceasefire was signed in early April.
By Frank Andrews
Israel vows to continue fighting Hezbollah in Lebanon despite Iranian threats
Israel’s defense minister vowed Monday to continue fighting Hezbollah in Lebanon despite a warning from Iran that such action could be met with “severe and crushing measures.”
In a statement, Minister of Defense Israel Katz said the Israel Defense Forces “will continue to operate in Lebanon against the terrorist organisation Hezbollah,” adding that Israel would again strike Dahiyeh, a southern suburb of Beirut, in retaliation for “any attack on northern settlements” in Israel.
It was Israeli strikes on Dahiyeh over the weekend that sparked the most serious exchange of fire between Israel and Hezbollah since the fragile U.S.-Iran ceasefire came into effect in early April.
“We reject Iran’s threats outright,” Katz said. “Any Iranian attempt to link Lebanon and Iran and attack Israel will be met with great force, as happened yesterday.”
Iran’s military said earlier Monday that it was halting attacks against Israel, but it warned that, “should acts of aggression and hostility continue, including in southern Lebanon, much more severe and crushing measures than before will follow.”
By Frank Andrews
Lebanon says heritage site in Tyre damaged by Israeli bombardment
A Lebanese culture ministry official told the French news agency AFP on Monday that Israeli bombardment had damaged a UNESCO World Heritage site in the southern city of Tyre, as correspondents there reported damage at the site.
One of the oldest cities on the Mediterranean coast, Tyre, in antiquity, was at various times Phoenician, Persian, Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine.
The city is around 12 miles from Lebanon’s southern border with Israel, and its UNESCO World Heritage-listed ruins include the remains of Roman baths and a second-century triumphal arch and hippodrome.
Israel’s military has been heavily striking Tyre, and the state-run National News Agency (NNA) on Sunday reported further Israeli bombardment after the Israeli army issued an evacuation warning covering districts including one of the archaeological areas, known as the city site.
Ali Badawi, the culture ministry’s regional director of archaeological sites for south Lebanon, said Sunday’s bombardment had had “the worst impact” on Tyre’s ancient areas since the latest Israel-Hezbollah war began.
“The amount of debris and damage at the site is high,” Badawi said, noting both the direct impact, with the site’s administrative office struck, and the indirect impact of debris strewn from nearby bombardment.
“This is a civilian site, a World Heritage site,” said Badawi. “It’s not a military site at all, and there are no military activities there.”
By AFP
Diplomatic resolution of Iran war “just about to be achieved,” Pakistani prime minister says
A diplomatic solution to the Iran war is “just about to be achieved,” Pakistan’s prime minister said Monday, urging all sides to “give peace a little more chance” after the worst violence in the conflict in two months.
“As we work earnestly and painstakingly … to find a peaceful diplomatic solution to the conflict, and especially when the final objective is just about to be achieved, we sincerely urge all sides to exercise restraint and give peace a little more chance,” Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif posted on X.
“The recent surge in violence in the Middle East is a stark reminder of the dangers associated with a tenuous ceasefire and the unbearable consequences it may lead to,” he added.
Pakistan has been working to mediate a peace deal between Iran and the U.S., hosting talks in early April in Islamabad that ended without an agreement and trying to arrange another face-to-face meeting since then.
The fragile ceasefire Pakistan has been hoping to build on appeared at its weakest Monday after Iran and Israel traded their first strikes in weeks. The clash started when Israel bombed southern Beirut on Sunday, attacking Hezbollah targets in the Lebanese capital in defiance of Washington’s wishes.
Soon after President Trump, in a Truth Social post, urged Israel and Iran to “immediately stop ‘shooting'” on Monday, Iran’s military announced that it would halt operations. Multiple Israeli media outlets subsequently reported that the country’s military had suspended attacks on Iran, but that operations against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon would continue.
By Frank Andrews, Khaled Wassef
U.S. stocks climb on tech rebound, seemingly easing tension in Middle East
Wall Street’s main indices advanced Monday as chip stocks bounced back and Iran said it was stopping its latest military operation against Israel – even as Tehran warned it could still issue a response.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.7 percent to 51,211.81 while the S&P 500 rose 0.9 percent to 7,447.95.
The tech-focused Nasdaq Composite Index rallied 1.1 percent to 26,009.61.
Adam Sarhan of 50 Park Investments said he believes “the market overreacted on Friday” with a tech sector sell-off while a solid U.S. jobs report fueled fears that the Federal Reserve would hike interest rates later in the year.
“Now we have cooler heads prevail, and buyers are showing up and buying the latest dip,” Sarhan added.
Investors also want to believe that “we’re making progress with the Middle East,” he said, as Iran said it was ending its latest military operation targeting Israel.
President Trump had told both Iran and key ally Israel to stop fighting after exchanges for the first time since a shaky ceasefire began sparked fears of escalation.
Tehran warned that despite its latest announcement of a halt, it could still issue a more crushing response if “acts of aggression and hostility continue.”
For now, the developments have calmed both the oil and Treasury markets, said Patrick O’Hare of Briefing.com in a note.
By AFP
Iran-linked tanker struck off the coast of Oman
An Iran-linked tanker has been attacked off the coast of Oman, according to Indian officials and a crew member speaking to CBS News.
Officials with the Indian government’s shipping ministry said Monday that they had received reports about the MT Marivex tanker being struck and a fire on board, according to India’s national ANI news agency. The Forward Seaman’s Union of India later told CBS News the vessel was hit by a missile and the crew were uninjured and evacuating.
A video sent to CBS News by a crew member on the ship appeared to show smoke coming from the vessel, with another vessel seen nearby.
Indian officials did not immediately respond to questions about who was believed to have fired on the ship.
The Indian Embassy in Oman said Omani personnel had rescued all 24 of the Marivex’s crew members. The Forward Seaman’s Union posted video of the crew’s evacuation.
Marivex, which was coming from India, was not carrying any cargo and had remained close to the Omani coastline since mid-May, according to marine tracking data.
The ship is sanctioned
By Frank Andrews, Joanne Stocker
Iran has “neither abandoned the field nor the negotiation table,” president says
Iran has “neither abandoned the field nor the negotiation table,” the country’s president said Monday.
“Diplomacy and defense are the two wings of national power,” President Masoud Pezeshkian said in a post on X: “We have neither abandoned the field nor the negotiating table.”
Iran’s military halted military operations earlier on Monday after exchanging strikes with Israel. The tit-for-tat strikes were sparked by Israel bombing the Dahiyeh suburb of Beirut, long considered a Hezbollah stronghold, on Sunday.
President Trump said Iran and Israel must “immediately stop ‘shooting'” in a Truth Social post on Monday, adding that both sides were seeking an “immediate ceasefire.”
By Frank Andrews
Israeli media say country halting attacks on Iran, but fight with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon to continue
Multiple Israeli media outlets quoted anonymous official sources as saying Monday that the country’s military had suspended attacks on Iran, following an announcement by Iran’s military command that it was halting its operations.
Both countries appeared to be heeding a demand from President Trump to stop tit-for-tat attacks sparked by Israeli strikes over the weekend on Lebanon’s capital Beirut, which Israel said were against Iranian-backed Hezbollah targets.
Israel’s Channel 12 and the Kann News public broadcaster said Israeli leaders had agreed to halt strikes against Iran, but that operations against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon would continue.
By Tucker Reals
European Union to sanction Iran for restricting maritime traffic
The European Union is to impose new sanctions on Iran for restricting maritime traffic, the bloc’s foreign policy chief said Monday.
Speaking to journalists Monday before a meeting of EU defense ministers in Cyprus, Kaja Kallas said the group would discuss the severe gridlock in the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has been effectively blocking since mid-April, charging ships for use of the vital waterway and occasionally attacking those deemed to be allied with the U.S. or Israel.
“It will be the first time where the freedom of navigation sanctions will be applied on Iran,” Kallas told reporters, without providing any further details.
By Frank Andrews
State media outlet quotes Iranian official as saying country is “prepared for a long-term war”
Iran is “prepared for a long-term war” and the U.S. “cannot escape responsibility for the crimes” of Israel, a military source was quoted Monday as saying by the semi-official Tasnim News agency, which is closely associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Iran is “prepared for a long-term war with the Zionist regime and to strike U.S. interests,” Tasnim quoted the source as saying.
“The coming days will show that Israeli and American calculations are consistently wrong,” the source said.
The comments came before Iran’s military headquarters announced a halt to all military operations, claiming it had delivered a “painful response” to Israeli strikes in Lebanon.
Mr. Trump had earlier urged both sides to “stop ‘shooting'” and he said Israel and Iran both wanted to reach a ceasefire.
The intense exchange of fire between Iran and Israel was among the most serious tests of the ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran that Mr. Trump announced in early April.
By Frank Andrews, Khaled Wassef
Trump told the Financial Times he “calls the shots,” not Netanyahu, as Israel and Iran traded fire
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “won’t have any choice” but to accept an agreement between the U.S. and Iran, President Trump said in an interview published on Sunday, because “I call the shots.”
In a telephone interview with the Financial Times, Mr. Trump said the Israeli leader “won’t have any choice.”
“I call the shots. I call all the shots. He [Netanyahu] doesn’t call the shots,” insisted Mr. Trump.
He spoke with the newspaper after Iran launched missiles at Israel in retaliation for Israeli strikes on the Lebanese capital Beirut, which Mr. Trump told Fox News he had been “not happy” about.
Mr. Trump asked Netanyahu on Sunday not to retaliate against Iran for the missile launches, according to Axios, to give diplomacy a chance. Mr. Trump was “pretty adamant that we are close to a deal with Iran,” a U.S. official told Axios.
Israel did end up striking Iran after Iran launched the missiles Sunday, but Iran’s military said Monday that it had halted its operations, claiming to have sent the intended message, as Mr. Trump insisted both sides were looking to agree on an “immediate CEASEFIRE.”
By Frank Andrews
Iran announces halt to military operations
Iran’s military on Monday announced a halt to all military operations after trading strikes with Israel.
Iran fired drones at Israel Sunday after Israel bombed Beirut’s southern suburbs against the urging of Washington. Israel responded with its own strikes and the tit-for-tat attacks continued into Monday.
But Iran’s central military command, the Khatam Al-Anbia, announced later Monday a “halt in military operations.”
In a statement it said Iran had “delivered a painful response” to the “atrocities of the brutal Zionist regime in southern Lebanon” and the Lebanese capital Beirut, and that Israel “and its supporters must learn a lesson” from the strikes.
“Accordingly,” the statement continued, “a halt in military operations is hereby announced.”
It added that “in the event of continued aggression and provocations, including in southern Lebanon, much stronger and more crushing actions will follow.”
President Trump urged Israel and Iran to “stop ‘shooting'” earlier Monday and said both sides were seeking an “immediate CEASEFIRE” after the weekend flare-up.
By Frank Andrews, Khaled Wassef
Israel and Iran seeking an “immediate CEASEFIRE” and “things should move quickly,” says Trump
Iran and Israel are seeking an “immediate CEASEFIRE,” President Trump said Monday, adding that “final negotiations” were ongoing and “things should move quickly.”
His comments came hours after Iran and Israel traded strikes in the worst violence in the war since a ceasefire was signed in early April.
Wisam Hashlamoun/Anadolu via Getty Images
In a post on Truth Social Monday, Mr. Trump wrote that Israel and Iran were “looking to do an immediate CEASEFIRE!”
“Final negotiations on ‘Peace’ are proceeding, subject to ignorance or stupidity getting in its way,” he added.
“The Blockade will remain in place, and in full force and effect, until a ‘Final Deal’ is reached. Things should move quickly.”
By Frank Andrews
Israel and Iran must “immediately stop ‘shooting,'” says Trump
President Trump told Israel and Iran to “immediately stop ‘shooting'” Monday, as the two countries traded strikes in the worst flare-up of the war since Mr. Trump announced a ceasefire in early April.
“Israel and Iran must immediately stop ‘shooting,'” Mr. Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
The two sides have exchanged fire since Israel launched strikes Sunday on the Lebanese capital Beirut, in defiance of the Trump administration’s wishes.
The U.S. president had urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday not to retaliate for Iranian strikes launched in response to the attacks in Beirut, according to Axios.
By Frank Andrews
Iran blames U.S. for resumption of hostilities with Israel
Iran said Monday that the United States held responsibility for the resumption of fighting with Israel, saying Israel’s actions “cannot be separated” from U.S. policy.
“Without a doubt … the actions of the Zionist regime in the region cannot be separated from U.S. policies,” foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said at a press conference in Tehran.
“No one believes that the Zionist regime would carry out any action without prior coordination and cooperation with the United States,” he added.
By Brian Dakss
Israeli military says Iran launched yet another missile barrage
The Israeli military said Monday that it had detected a new barrage of missiles launched from Iran, the sixth salvo since the latest flare-up in fighting began the previous day.
“A short while ago, the IDF identified missiles launched from Iran towards the territory of the State of Israel. Defensive systems are operating to intercept the threat,” the military said.
By AFP
Yemen’s Houthis declare ban on Israeli shipping in Red Sea
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels announced a missile attack on Israel on Monday and declared a ban on Israeli shipping in the Red Sea, raising the specter of a return to major disruption on the key route.
“We declare a complete and total ban on Israeli maritime navigation in the Red Sea,” said a statement from the Houthis’ armed forces, which also confirmed their first missile attack on Israel since early April.
By AFP
Israel and Iran target each other on war’s 101st day
Israel and Iran traded fire early Monday in retaliatory strikes that threatened to drag the wider Middle East back into a regional war.
Israeli authorities said two waves of Iranian missiles targeted the country and urged the public to seek shelter. Explosions could be heard in central Israel as Israeli air defenses sought to intercept the incoming Iranian fire.
Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said it had targeted two military bases in Israel, describing the attack as being part of Operation Nasr, or “Victory.” The Guard said it launched the missiles after Israel targeted radar sites in three areas of Iran.
Israel and Iran both said Israel hit an Iranian petrochemical plant.
Israel launched strikes on central and western Iran early Monday in response to missile fire from Tehran, in the most serious crossfire since President Trump announced a ceasefire in the war on April 8.
Tehran had threatened retaliation on Sunday after Israel struck Beirut’s southern suburbs without warning in defiance of Washington’s request days ago not to hit the Lebanese capital.
Monday marked the 101st day of the Iran war. It was launched jointly by the U.S. and Israel on Feb. 28 with strikes that killed former Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior leaders.
CBS/AP
Israeli military says it struck military targets in Iran
The Israeli military says it conducted strikes on military targets in western and central Iran early Monday local time, according to a statement posted on X.
The strikes came after Iran launched missiles at Israel on Sunday and after President Trump had called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to urge him not to retaliate immediately for the Iranian missile attack, according to a senior U.S. official.
The official, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to describe a private phone call, said that Mr. Trump believed he had convinced Netanyahu to wait.
Iran had warned that an Israeli attack on Beirut would renew full-scale war across the Mideast, even as Pakistan and other mediators try to restart talks between Tehran and Washington.
“U.S. forces across the Middle East remain vigilant and ready,” the U.S. Central Command posted on X shortly before the missile launches. The U.S. Embassy in Israel later directed employees and family members to shelter in place.
CBS/AP
Trump “not happy” about Israeli strikes on Beirut, but tells Iran: “You’ve shot your missiles, that’s enough”
The White House confirmed to CBS News on Sunday that President Trump has been briefed on the escalation between Iran and Israel.
In an interview with Fox News, Mr. Trump said, “What I would suggest to Iran: You’ve shot your missiles, that’s enough … Get back to the table and make a deal.”
Asked about Israel launching its initial strikes on Beirut, Fox’s Trey Yingst said the president responded: “I’m not happy about it.”
By Kiki Intarasuwan, Tucker Reals, Emma Nicholson
Israeli military says it detected missiles launched from Iran
Israel said Sunday that Iran has launched missiles at it in the first such bombardment since a fragile ceasefire took effect in early April, complicating mediation efforts for a deal to end the war.
Iran’s state broadcaster confirmed the launch of missiles and multiple explosions were heard in northern Israel. Israel’s military said it was working on intercepting the missiles but “the defense is not hermetic,” adding that sirens sounded in several areas of the country.
Tehran had warned of retaliation after Israel on Sunday struck Beirut’s southern suburbs without warning in defiance of Washington’s request days ago to stand down. Israel called it retaliation for the Iranian-backed Hezbollah firing at northern Israel earlier in the day.
By The Associated Press
2 dead, 20 wounded in Beirut suburb strike, Lebanon says
Lebanon’s health ministry said an Israeli air raid on Beirut’s southern suburbs left two people dead and 20 more wounded.
The wounded included four women and four children, according to a statement from the ministry.
By AFP
Iran threatens U.S. interests and Israel after Beirut strike
Iran’s chief negotiator warned on Sunday that an Israeli strike on south Beirut and the ongoing U.S. blockade of Iranian ports would trigger retaliation.
In a social media post, parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf accused Washington of giving Israel the “green light” for strikes that hit two targets in the Lebanese capital.
This and the blockade, he said, “turns the bases and assets of America and the [Israeli] regime in the region into legitimate targets. Our armed forces, as always, are free to act.”
By AFP