Donald Trump has lashed out at both Israel and Iran, swearing on camera after accusing the two countries of violating the ceasefire in the Middle East.
Speaking to reporters before leaving for the NATO summit in The Hague, the US president said he was “not happy” with both countries – before adding he was “really unhappy” with Israel.
“I’ve got to get Israel to calm down,” Mr Trump said, reacting to Israeli strikes which hit Iran in three stages up until 5.30am UK time, before the ceasefire came into place, according to a spokesperson from Iran’s central military headquarters via state TV.
Israel also accused Iran of violating the deal by firing a rocket after the agreed ceasefire time. Iran’s military denied firing on Israel, state media reported.
The president was clearly frustrated at the apparent breakdown of the agreement – which he had taken credit for in a series of posts on Truth Social.
He told reporters: “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. The biggest load that we’ve seen. I’m not happy with Israel.
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“We basically have two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don’t know what the f**k they’re doing.”
Shortly after the outburst, Mr Trump posted on Truth Social that “Israel is not going to attack Iran”, adding that Israeli planes heading to Iran “will turn around and head home”. He insisted that “Nobody will be hurt, the ceasefire is in effect!”
Israel and Iran had accepted a ceasefire plan to end their 12-day war in a shaky agreement announced by Mr Trump.
As it began, the US president posted: “The ceasefire is now in effect. Please do not violate it!”
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On Monday, Iran launched a limited missile attack on a US military base in Qatar, where all the rockets were intercepted, in retaliation for US strikes against three key nuclear sites in Iran over the weekend.
Sir Keir Starmer, who has arrived in the Netherlands for the two-day NATO summit, did not directly respond to Mr Trump’s extraordinary comments.
But the prime minister said he wanted to see the airstrikes stop. “We need to get back to that ceasefire, which is consistent with what I’ve been saying about de-escalation for quite some time now.”
“That’s the message that I’m discussing with other leaders today.”
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