Israeli strikes on Beirut foil US peace plans, Iran says ‘no point’ in talks

US President Donald Trump on Sunday urged no further attacks by anyone after Israel’s military said it launched strikes on Hezbollah targets in Beirut, potentially complicating efforts to finalise a deal to end the US-Iran war. Smoke rose over the Lebanese capital, and the Civil Defense said it retrieved three bodies and six wounded people from the rubble.

Iran threatened a military response. Trump wrote on social media that “the attack on Beirut should not have happened,” adding that “We are very close to a Deal that will bring peace to the region,” and “Let’s not blow it!”

The deal in its current form is a deep disappointment to Israel’s government, which has been sidelined in negotiations led by Pakistan and others. The last time Israel struck the Beirut suburbs a week ago, it set off the most serious escalation of fighting between Iran and Israel since the tenuous ceasefire took hold April 7.

Trump, who had said the deal could be signed on Sunday, has pressed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to stop hitting Lebanon hard while a deal is near, but the prime minister has defied him.

Iranian chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on Sunday there was “no point” in continuing peace talks with the United States after its ally Israel attacked Beirut’s southern suburbs.

“The Zionists’ aggression against Dahieh once again showed that the United States either lacks the will to implement its commitments or lacks the ability to do so,” Ghalibaf said on social media following Israeli strikes on the Dahieh neighbourhood of Beirut.