by Nicholas Ballasy
President Donald Trump early Monday demanded that Iran and Israel stop firing missiles at each other after a weekend of violence between the two threatened a fragile Mideast ceasefire.
“Israel and Iran must immediately stop ‘shooting,'” the president wrote on his Truth Social account.
The admonition became hours after Israel on Sunday night launched airstrikes against Iran, retaliating for a volley of missiles that Tehran fired earlier in the day.
Israel’s counterattack had come despite pleas from President Donald Trump for restraint as all sides tried to pursue a still-elusive peace deal.
The Israeli military said early Monday that the strikes hit military targets in Iran.
“A short while ago, the Israeli Air Force struck military targets belonging to the Iranian terror regime in western and central Iran,” the Israeli military said in a statement.
Sunday proved to be one of the most difficult days in the Mideast in recent weeks, as Iran shot missiles at Israel after an Israeli airstrike on Beirut.
Israel said it was targeting the Iran-backed militants Hezbollah.
Hezbollah said it had attacked a group of Israeli state fighters with drones, according to reports.
Trump had said Sunday that he would ask Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to respond to the attack, according to Axios.
Trump cited the progress toward a deal with Iran as the reason Israeli should not respond.
On Truth Social, Trump said Israel and Iran “are looking to do an immediate CEASEFIRE.”
“Final negotiations on “Peace” are proceeding, subject to ignorance or stupidity getting in its way. The Blockade will remain in place, and in full force and effect, until a “Final Deal” is reached. Things should move quickly. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” the president added.
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Nicholas Ballasy is a reporter for Just the News. Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of The Star News Network and contributed to this story.
