US President Donald Trump has called on all sides to show restraint after Israeli strikes on suburbs of the Lebanese capital Beirut and Iranian threats of retaliation against Israel, warning on Truth Social: "This could be the beginning of a long and beautiful peace - Let’s not blow it!"
Trump had originally held out the prospect that a framework agreement to end the war between the US and Iran could be signed on Sunday, his 80th birthday. Following the new escalation in Lebanon, he issued the warning on Truth Social.
Trump condemned Israel's counter-attack in Lebanon in his post. The strike near Beirut should not have taken place, "particularly on a special day when we are so close to a Peace Deal with Iran," the US president wrote.
The Israeli Air Force struck near Beirut again on Sunday after attacks by the Iranian-backed Lebanese Hezbollah militia on northern Israel, with the Israeli military saying several explosive drones were involved.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a joint statement that "terror targets" belonging to Hezbollah had been struck in the southern suburbs known as Dahiyeh. The attack was carried out in response to Hezbollah's shelling of Israeli territory, they said.
At least three people were killed, according to Lebanese sources.
US president calls for an end to the attacks
Trump wrote on Truth Social that Israel had the right to defend itself against threats, but said the attack it had responded to was insignificant as no one had been killed or injured.
He called on all sides to show restraint, saying a deal with Iran was close that would bring peace to the region, including Lebanon. There should be no more Israeli strikes anywhere in Lebanon, Trump wrote, and no more attacks by other parties, including Hezbollah, on Israel.
Iran questions diplomatic efforts following attack near Beirut
Iran had called into question a possible agreement on the framework deal with the US following the Israeli strikes near Beirut.
"If you [the US] lack the will and ability to fulfil your commitments, speaking of continuing the path is not possible," Iran's parliamentary speaker and chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, posted on X on Sunday. Giving the green light to such attacks cannot yield diplomatic concessions, he said.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) threatened Israel with retaliatory strikes, with a spokesman for the elite force telling the IRIB state broadcaster: "There is no doubt that these crimes will not go unanswered."
The previous Sunday, Israeli strikes near Beirut - which Israel also said were a response to Hezbollah attacks - had triggered Iranian missile strikes in several waves on northern Israel and Israeli counter-strikes on Iran.
Later on Sunday evening, Iran's influential Supreme National Security Council also threatened Israel with retaliation. "Lebanon is part of our lives, and the crossing of Iran's red lines will not be tolerated," council chief Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr said in a statement.
The response of the "Islamic fighters" was imminent, the former IRGC commander said, according to the Fars news agency.
The Israeli military said in the late afternoon that it was preparing for the possible bombardment of Israeli territory in the coming hours. The military was on heightened alert and prepared for "a variety of defensive and offensive scenarios."
A projectile fired from Lebanon struck near the border town of Kiryat Shmona, the Israeli military said on Sunday evening. Further impacts from "suspicious projectiles" were reported on Israeli territory near the Lebanese border.
Several projectiles also landed near Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon. There were initially no reports of casualties.
Israel points the finger at Hezbollah
The Israeli Foreign Ministry, responding to Ghalibaf’s post on X, accused Iran of lying. "Iran’s proxy, Hezbollah, is the one that attacked Israel again this morning, completely unprovoked," the ministry said in an X post. "Hezbollah constantly fires at Israeli civilians."
Iran's main condition for a deal with the US is an end to military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon. Tehran has repeatedly stressed that without this condition being met, Iran would not be willing to continue the diplomatic process.
The new escalation in Lebanon has increased uncertainty over whether and when the framework agreement between the US and Iran, which has been under negotiation for weeks, will be concluded.
The agreement is intended to serve as a starting point for deeper talks between Washington and Tehran. According to reports, in addition to reopening the Strait of Hormuz, it would extend the fragile and repeatedly broken ceasefire by 60 days and launch negotiations on Iran's nuclear programme.
The New York Times reported that the Trump team remained cautiously optimistic on Sunday morning that the deal with Iran would still be signed later in the day, despite the latest Israeli strikes in Lebanon.
Trump's most recent post reflected his desire to reach a deal and get out of this war, the newspaper wrote, citing a person familiar with the administration's thinking.
Barak Ravid, a reporter for the news portal Axios, wrote on X on Sunday afternoon that Trump had told him in a brief interview that the signing was still planned for Sunday.
