US President Donald Trump on Monday urged Iran and Israel to cease hostilities, as both countries engaged in tit-for-tat attacks that seriously threatened talks for a deal to end the Middle East war. Trump posted on his TruthSocial account: “Israel and Iran must immediately stop shooting,” hours after the two nations attacked each other for the first time since a ceasefire two months ago.
The appeal came as Israel and Iran launched fresh attacks against each other, marking the most serious escalation since the ceasefire that took effect on April 8. Days earlier, Trump had reportedly told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to refrain from further attacks, but Israel struck a petrochemical plant in Iran’s southwest along with military targets elsewhere.
Hours earlier, Trump said new strikes by Israel and Iran would not affect his administration’s peace talks with Tehran, adding that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “doesn’t call the shots” in Washington’s strategy. Trump told Netanyahu during a phone call to refrain from further strikes because “we are close to doing something good in terms of a deal,” according to a US official quoted by Axios.
Iran said Monday that the United States held responsibility for the resumption of fighting with Israel, saying Israel’s actions “cannot be separated” from US policy. Tehran’s missile barrage against Sunday was in response to Tel Aviv hitting Beirut, the Lebanon capital, which Iran described as crossing “all red lines.”
The renewed hostilities left the future of the ceasefire announced by US President Donald Trump unclear, with the violence involving an attack on Iran’s petrochemical facility and a missile strike on Israel. This exchange marked the first missile fire between the two countries since the April truce, raising fears of a broader regional conflict that could destabilise energy infrastructure and shipping routes in the Middle East.
As of Monday morning, Trump was pressuring both sides to halt fighting immediately, arguing that Iran had already delivered its response and should now return to negotiations. The US president has a track record for de-escalating conflicts and said he would get Israel and Iran to cease hostilities, just as he previously mediated between India and Pakistan after their cross-border confrontation.
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