Trump censures Israel over Beirut strike, warns against derailing Iran peace talks
The U.S. president called the Israeli raid disproportionate and said it should not have occurred on a day when a nuclear agreement with Iran is so close.
The morning strike in Dahiya
Israel struck a Hezbollah infrastructure site in the Dahiya district, the southern suburbs of Beirut, on Sunday morning. The IDF confirmed the operation. The initial Hezbollah provocation, according to U.S. President Donald Trump, was extremely limited: no one was injured, harmed, or killed.
Trump's public reprimand
In a Truth Social post, Trump broke with the traditional U.S. posture and squarely criticised the Israeli action. He acknowledged Israel’s right to self-defence but called the response disproportionate to the scale of the original threat.
The attack this morning in Beirut should not have happened, especially on such an important 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 responded to was very small-scale and insignificant — nobody was injured, harmed, or killed — and this must not disrupt this important process.
An imminent agreement with Tehran
Trump stressed that an agreement with Iran is near and would “bring peace to the region, including Lebanon.” He insisted all parties must step back, demanding no further attacks from Israel anywhere in Lebanon and no more strikes from any other side, including Hezbollah, against Israel.
We are very close to an agreement that will bring peace to the region, including Lebanon, and all sides must step back. This could be the beginning of a long and beautiful peace — let’s not blow it up!
Iran’s sharp reply
Iranian officials reacted with threats and scepticism. The deputy commander of the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters said the Israeli “crimes” in the southern suburbs of Beirut would not go unanswered. Iranian negotiator Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf argued the strike exposed that the United States either lacks the will to honour its commitments or the ability to do so. He warned on X that the current path could not continue if promises cannot be kept.
The Israeli attack on the southern suburbs of Beirut showed that the United States either lacks the will to meet its commitments or the ability to do so. Continuing the current course will be impossible if the commitments cannot be upheld.
A fragile moment
Trump’s message, posted on his own social platform, was addressed directly to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and to Hezbollah. It marks an unusually blunt public intervention from Washington, framing the Beirut strike as a threat to a broader diplomatic breakthrough rather than a routine self-defence measure.
