United States President Donald Trump has criticised Israel for launching an attack on Lebanon's capital, Beirut, on the day he has said a deal to end the US-Israel war with Iran could be signed.
In a post on Truth Social on Sunday, Trump said the Israeli attack on Beirut “should not have happened, particularly on a special day when we are so close to a Peace Deal with Iranâ€.
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“We are very close to a Deal that will bring peace to the region, including to Lebanon, and all sides should stand down,†he said.
“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,†he said.
“This could be the beginning of a long and beautiful peace — Let's not blow it!â€
Hours later, Iran's Foreign Ministry said “the responsibility for the dangerous consequences†of Israel's actions “will lie†with the US and Israel.
Prior to that, Iran's top negotiator and parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said Israel's attacks had again drawn US trust into question.
The US and Israel twice launched attacks against Iran – sparking the 12-day war in 2025 and the current war on February 28 – amid ongoing indirect talks over Iran's nuclear programme.
In a post on X, Ghalibaf said the US “either lacks the will to fulfil its commitments or the ability to do soâ€.
“If you lack the will and ability to fulfil your commitments, speaking of continuing the path is not possible,†he said.
Meanwhile, Ebrahim Azizi, head of the Iranian parliament's national security committee, threatened that a “strong response is comingâ€.
“Today's crime by the Zionist regime in Dahiyeh, Beirut, once again proved the US is weak without credibility, as it is not even capable of controlling this illegitimate regime,†Azizi said.
Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, also said a response is “forthcomingâ€.
“Lebanon is part of our very being, and violations of the Islamic Republic's red lines will not be tolerated,†he said.
Israeli attacks
Authorities have said at least three people have been killed in the Israeli strikes on the Dahiyeh area of Beirut.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had said the military launched the strikes in response to Hezbollah firing projectiles towards northern Israel.
In his post on Truth Social, Trump questioned the justification.
“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,†he said.
Trump on Saturday said that a deal with Iran was “scheduled†to be signed on Sunday, with top mediator Pakistan indicating the signing would be digital.
In a Sunday interview with Axios, Trump maintained that the signing was still on track, but would be delayed “by a few hours†due to the Israeli strikes.
Trump also voiced further frustration with Netanyahu, who critics have charged with repeatedly seeking to derail diplomacy.
“It is so bad, I couldn't believe it. An hour before we are supposed to sign the deal,†Trump said.
“I was so pissed off. I let him know. He has no [expletive] judgement. I let him know that.â€
Both sides indicate deal close
But Iranian officials have offered a slightly different timeline, with Esmaeil Baghaei, a spokesperson for Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, saying on Saturday that the signing could take days.
Still, both sides have broadly indicated that a signing of a memorandum of understanding to end fighting on all fronts, including in Lebanon, was closer than ever.
While no official terms of that initial agreement have been released, both sides have indicated that the Strait of Hormuz would be open, the US naval blockade lifted, and fighting would be immediately halted.
Questions over the deeply entrenched issues of the future of Iran's nuclear programme, frozen Iranian assets and sanctions relief were expected to be addressed in a 60-day period following the initial signing.
Speaking to Al Jazeera, Sami Nader, the director of the Levant Institute for Strategic Affairs, called Israel's attacks on Sunday a “strategic test†for both sides.
Israel has repeatedly pushed for Lebanon to be decoupled from any deal with Iran, he explained.
“There is also a domestic intention, given the current upcoming election in Israel. Netanyahu has been criticised that he is not doing enough against Hezbollah, that he is very deferential, lenient to Trump,†Nader said during a television interview.
US officials have publicly said that US and Israeli objectives for the war diverge.
Obama weighs in
While fighting between the US and Iran has been largely paused since April 8, barring a handful of flare-ups, efforts to reach a more lasting ceasefire have remained elusive.
Trump has repeatedly vowed to reach a deal more stringent than the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) signed in 2015.
Under the deal, reached between Iran, the US, the United Kingdom, Russia, Germany, France, China and the European Union, Tehran agreed to limit its nuclear programme and allow for unprecedented inspections in exchange for sanctions relief.
Critics said the timelines of the agreement were not strict enough, with Trump unilaterally withdrawing in 2018. Iran has for years denied seeking a nuclear weapon.
Speaking during an interview on the ABC News programme “This Week†released on Sunday, former US President Barack Obama said it was unlikely a better deal on Iran's nuclear programme could be negotiated than the one his administration negotiated.
“It is doubtful that any agreement that arises is going to be significantly different or a significant improvement from the deal that we had in the first place,†he said.
Obama added that the US can not “just bully our way or bomb our way to solutionsâ€.
“You'd think we would have learned that lesson by now,†he said.
