President Trump said Sunday that a U.S. deal with Iran to end their conflict remains on track despite an Israeli strike on Beirut that nearly derailed negotiations just hours before the signing was set to occur.
The agreement had been scheduled to be finalized, but Trump said the Israeli operation delayed the signing by several hours. An Iranian parliamentary official warned that a strong response was coming in the aftermath of the strike.
Trump was blunt about his anger toward Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In a call with Axios, the president said he was shocked when advisers briefed him on the Beirut strike and immediately conveyed his displeasure to Netanyahu directly.
"It is so bad, I couldn't believe it. An hour before we are supposed to sign the deal," Trump said. He added: "Why did Bibi have to do a fucking attack? I was so pissed off. I let him know. He has no fucking judgement. I let him know that."
Trump acknowledged that Hezbollah had struck Israel first but emphasized the attack caused no damage and resulted in no deaths, making the Israeli response appear especially untimely given the diplomatic window that was closing.
The president argued that the Iran deal serves Israel's interests by preventing Tehran from developing nuclear weapons. The agreement would require Iran to dispose of nuclear material and allow surprise inspections of nuclear facilities, Trump said.
The timing of Netanyahu's decision to strike was particularly problematic because it threatened to give Iran a pretext to walk away from negotiations. Ebrahim Azizi, chair of Iran's parliament national security committee, signaled retaliation was planned, writing on social media that a strong response was coming.
Trump's frustration reflected the razor's edge nature of the diplomacy. The deal had teetered on collapse the moment Israeli jets hit Beirut, requiring frantic efforts by the White House to keep both sides at the negotiating table. Private conversations and public messaging were being deployed to salvage an agreement that appeared to be slipping away.
As of Sunday, Iranian officials had not publicly confirmed that the signing would proceed as rescheduled, leaving uncertainty about whether Trump's intervention would be enough to keep the agreement alive.
Author James Rodriguez: "Trump's willingness to publicly blast Netanyahu over the strike's timing shows how dependent the Iran deal has become on his personal diplomacy, but it's unclear whether fury and finger-pointing can actually close a gap this wide."
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