Trump warns Israel and Iran not to 'blow it' after new strikes threaten emerging ceasefire deal

U.S. President Donald Trump issued a plea for restraint on Sunday, urging both Israel and Iran not to escalate the conflict after Israel's military conducted strikes on Hezbollah targets in Beirut. The military action potentially complicates efforts to finalize a U.S.-Iran deal aimed at ending the regional war.

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We are very close to a Deal that will bring peace to the region, including to Lebanon

Smoke billowed over the Lebanese capital following the strikes, which the health ministry reported killed three people and wounded 16 others. Iran responded by threatening military action, while Trump took to social media, stating, "We are very close to a Deal that will bring peace to the region, including to Lebanon" and implored, "Let's not blow it!"

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Let's not blow it!

Israel's government has expressed disappointment with the current deal, feeling sidelined in negotiations led by Pakistan and others. The strikes on Beirut followed a previous Israeli attack a week prior, which triggered the most serious escalation between Iran and Israel since a fragile ceasefire took hold on April 7. Trump had pressed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to halt strikes on Lebanon as a deal neared, but Netanyahu defied the request, stating the strikes were a response to Hezbollah's attacks on northern Israel. The Israeli military confirmed Hezbollah launched projectiles, releasing footage of the incident. Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz asserted, "Israel will not tolerate firing into its territory."

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Israel will not tolerate firing into its territory.

Trump downplayed the attacks on northern Israel, calling them "very small and meaningless, nobody was hurt, injured, or killed, and should not disrupt this important process." An Associated Press photographer observed that a five-story apartment building was heavily damaged. Residents of the southern suburbs, many of whom had recently returned home, were seen fleeing the area. Hezbollah has been targeting Israeli troops within Lebanon in recent weeks, and Iran desires the ceasefire deal to encompass the conflict in Lebanon, though the terms regarding an Israeli withdrawal remain unclear.

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very small and meaningless, nobody was hurt, injured, or killed, and should not disrupt this important process.