President Donald Trump described the Israeli strike in Beirut as 'insignificant' and said the parties are very close to a deal with Iran, according to his full tweet cited by Israeli media. The statement appears aimed at downplaying the strike's impact on the diplomatic process.
In a shift from his earlier anger, President Donald Trump now describes the Israeli strike in Beirut as 'insignificant' and says the parties are 'very close' to a deal with Iran. The remarks came in a full tweet cited by Israeli media at 17:59 Jerusalem. The statement follows an earlier, harsher reaction: at 17:53 Jerusalem, The Zioneer reported Trump expressing anger over the strike, arguing it could unravel the forming peace agreement and urging restraint with the words 'Let's not blow this.' By 17:55 Jerusalem, Trump had already called the strike 'small and insignificant' and said no further Israeli attacks should occur in Lebanon—a line he now sharpens by calling the strike 'insignificant' without repeating the call to halt.
The thread shows the President's position evolving rapidly across afternoon hours. The 17:53 version reported anger and a warning; the 17:55 bulletin recast the strike as 'small and insignificant' and demanded a halt; the current tweet abandons the halt demand, minimizes the strike further, and insists the diplomatic track is intact. The sequence suggests a coordinated effort to de-escalate the political fallout rather than a change in substantive assessments of the strike itself.
As The Zioneer reported over the past week, Trump has issued a series of statements advancing, then walking back, elements of an Iran deal framework: on June 11 he announced an 'excellent settlement' had been reached; on June 12 he retweeted the Iranian foreign minister's claim that a memorandum 'has never been closer'; and on June 13 he posted 'Next target?' amidst escalating airstrikes. The current tweet's 'insignificant' characterization aligns with that pattern of simultaneously pursuing a deal and managing perception of military actions.
The tweet provides no further details on the strike's casualty toll, the targets, or the terms of the claimed near-deal. The extent to which Israel was coordinated with or surprised by the sequence of Trump statements remains unclear.
- StrongTrump says Israel's Beirut strike was not coordinated with US, plans to call Netanyahu to urge restraint
- StrongTrump says Israel not involved in strikes on Iran
- DevelopingTrump says Israel's counterstrike in Iran was 'unnecessary' but says he understands why it acted
- StrongTrump asked Iran not to respond to Beirut strike, furious about attack in central Lebanon
Source and signal
- Internal intake