President Donald Trump’s critique of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s actions surrounding a fragile ceasefire with Iran has triggered an intense debate over U.S. foreign policy and the stability of the Middle East.
At a Glance
- A U.S.-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Iran was immediately violated by both sides on Tuesday.
- President Trump expressed extreme frustration, publicly blasting both nations and particularly criticizing Israel’s actions.
- In an expletive-laced remark, Trump said the two countries “don’t know what the f— they’re doing.”
- Trump reportedly had an “exceptionally firm” phone call with Netanyahu, demanding Israel stand down to save the truce.
Ceasefire Collapses Within Hours
A ceasefire brokered by the United States to end the “12-Day War” between Israel and Iran had a chaotic and violent start on Tuesday. The phased agreement was immediately undermined as both sides accused the other of violations. According to a timeline of events, Iran launched missile barrages just before and after the truce was set to begin, killing four people in the Israeli city of Beersheba. Israel, in turn, conducted airstrikes just prior to the ceasefire and a retaliatory strike after an Iranian violation.
Trump’s Furious Public Rebuke
The breakdown drew an extraordinary and furious public response from the deal’s architect, President Donald Trump. Speaking to reporters on the White House lawn before departing for a NATO summit, Trump did not hide his anger, directing his sharpest criticism at the U.S. ally.
“I think they both violated it,” Trump said. “Israel, as soon as we made the deal, they came out and they dropped a load of bombs, the likes of which I’ve never seen before… I’m not happy with Israel,” he stated, according to reports from CBS News.
His frustration culminated in an unprecedented, expletive-laced assessment of the two warring nations: “We basically have two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don’t know what the f— they’re doing. Do you understand that?”
A “Firm and Direct” Intervention
Beyond the public scolding, Trump took direct action to salvage the truce. He issued a blunt command on his Truth Social platform, writing in all caps, “ISRAEL. DO NOT DROP THOSE BOMBS. IF YOU DO IT, IT IS A MAJOR VIOLATION. BRING YOUR PILOTS HOME, NOW!”
Following the post, Trump held what White House sources described to Axios and other outlets as an “exceptionally firm and direct” phone call with Prime Minister Netanyahu. During the call, Trump demanded that Israel halt a large-scale retaliatory strike that was already in motion. The pressure appeared to work, as Israel ultimately limited its response to a single strike on a radar installation near Tehran. While the ceasefire remains incredibly fragile, the direct intervention from the American president seems to have pulled the region back from the brink of a wider war, for now.
