Trump says Israel and Iran seek ceasefire and talks about a close agreement
United States President Donald Trump said on Monday (8) that Israel and Iran are "seeking an immediate ceasefire" after a series of attacks between the two countries threatened the fragile truce already in force.
"The final 'peace' negotiations are underway, subject to ignorance or stupidity getting in the way," he wrote in Truth Social. "The blockade will remain in place, in full force and effect, until a 'final agreement' is reached. Things must move quickly."
The president also asked countries to stop exchanging attacks "immediately." "Israel and Iran must immediately cease firing," he wrote in one post.
Trump has been signaling for weeks that a preliminary agreement to end the war is close, but so far it has not materialized.
Resumption of attacks
Israel said on Monday it had struck a petrochemical plant in southwestern Iran, in addition to other attacks on military targets, after United States President Donald Trump reportedly instructed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to refrain from further attacks.
In the first offensive on an energy facility inside Iran since the April 8 ceasefire, Israeli forces say they have hit targets at the Mahshahr petrochemical complex, while a provincial official told Fars that parts of the plant had been damaged.
Yemen's Tehran-aligned Houthis have vowed to impede Israeli shipping in the Red Sea and claimed responsibility for the first missile attack on Israel since the ceasefire, prompting the Israeli military to activate its air defense systems.
"We consider all enemy movements to be legitimate military targets for our armed forces," the Houthis added in a statement.
Trump's request
Hours earlier, Trump had said that new attacks from Israel and Iran would not affect his government's peace negotiations with Tehran, adding that Benjamin Netanyahu "doesn't run everything."
Trump has pressured Israel to stop its attacks in Lebanon in order to pave the way for an agreement to end the war with Iran, even swearing at Netanyahu in a phone call last week.
However, early on Sunday (9), Israel launched attacks in the Beirut region for the first time since Washington announced a ceasefire plan for Lebanon last week.
Iran fired missiles at Israeli targets in retaliation, but Trump insisted a deal to end the war was still possible.
"This will have no impact on the agreement," Trump told the Financial Times newspaper. "I'm the one in charge. I make all the decisions. He (Netanyahu) doesn't rule anything."
*With information from Reuters news agency
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Source: CNN