Trump slams Israel over Dahieh attack, urges parties to cease fire to achieve 'peace deal'
U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday criticized Israel for launching a new attack on Beirut's southern suburbs and urged all parties to show restraint in order to achieve a "peace deal."
"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. Israel has the right to defend itself against threats, but the attack it was responding to was very small and meaningless, nobody was hurt, injured, or killed, and should not disrupt this important process," Trump said in a post on his Truth Social network.
"We are very close to a Deal that will bring peace to the region, including to Lebanon, and all sides should stand down. 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 urged.
"This could be the beginning of a long and beautiful peace — Let’s not blow it!" the U.S. president added.
The proposed deal in its current form is a deep disappointment to Israel's government, which has been sidelined in negotiations led by Pakistan and others. 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.
Trump, who had said the deal could be signed Sunday, has pressed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to stop hitting Lebanon hard while a deal is near, but the prime minister has defied him.
Netanyahu's office said the strikes were in response to Hezbollah attacks on northern Israel. Israel’s military said Hezbollah launched three projectiles, releasing footage where an audible boom was followed by rising smoke. There was no immediate comment from the Iranian-backed Hezbollah.
“Israel will not tolerate firing into its territory,” Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement. The military later said it was preparing for potential incoming fire in the coming hours.
A five-story apartment building with shops on the ground floor was struck in Dahieh's Ghobeiri neighborhood.
Hezbollah fired missiles into Israel on March 2, two days after the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran, sparking war in the Middle East. Israeli troops have since pushed their invasion of Lebanon deeper than at any point in over a quarter century.
Iran wants a ceasefire deal to include the fighting in Lebanon.
Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, a lead negotiator for Tehran, warned the U.S. on X after Israel's strikes that “if you lack the will and ability to fulfill your commitments, speaking of continuing the path is not possible."
"Without a doubt, these crimes will not go unanswered,” said Gen. Mohammad Jafar Asadi, deputy commander of Iran’s Joint Command Headquarters, the official Mizan news agency reported.
Qatari mediators traveled to Tehran on Sunday to finalize the agreement, according to two regional officials.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media, expressed cautious optimism that the U.S. and Iran were finally approaching a deal that could halt hostilities that have killed thousands of people and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, whose closure has thrown world markets into disarray.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Saturday the deal would be signed Sunday, while Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said it could happen in the coming days.
Trump said the Strait of Hormuz would open immediately after the signing. 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.
Source: Naharnet, Associated Press
| Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. | https://mobile.naharnet.com/stories/en/320678 |