US President Donald Trump on Sunday said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would have no choice but to accept any agreement negotiated by Washington with Iran, asserting that he was ultimately in charge of the process.Click here for live updates
Speaking in a telephone interview with the Financial Times, Trump said that Netanyahu would have to go along with any deal reached between the United States and Iran.“He won’t have any choice. I call the shots. He [Netanyahu] doesn’t call the shots,” Trump said. His remarks came as Iran launched 11 missiles towards Israel on Sunday in its first direct attack since a regional truce was announced on April 8. In response, the Israeli Air Force said it carried out strikes on military targets belonging to the Iranian regime in western and central Iran, with the operation guided by Military Intelligence.Also Read | Watch: Missiles rain across Israel’s night sky as Iran launches fresh attacks after two monthsThe latest exchange marked the violation of the ceasefire reached earlier this year and threatened to further complicate ongoing US efforts to secure a broader agreement with Tehran.
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Despite the escalation, Trump insisted that the missile attack would not derail negotiations with Iran. “It’s not going to have any impact on the deal,” he told the Financial Times.Referring to the Iranian missile barrage, Trump said: “We’ll see how it ends up. But they were attacks that did not kick at all. It’s one of those things that’s been going for 3,000 years, or 47 years, depending on how you count.”Also Read | 100 days of Middle East crisis: Oil prices jump over 3% as Iran-Israel resume warWhile maintaining that diplomacy remained his preferred option, Trump appeared less confident than in previous weeks that an agreement was imminent.When asked about the status of the talks, he said: “I think the deal is going on. We’ll see what happens.”The US president reiterated that the recent exchange of fire would not affect Washington’s approach to the negotiations. “The deal may make it on its own merit, or not, but this will not have any effect on it,” Trump said.Asked what would happen if a deal collapsed, he said the United States could either pursue further military action or continue exerting pressure through economic restrictions.“It means two things. Number one, it would mean that possibly we would go in and take care of the rest of the place that we didn’t take care of militarily. Or it would just mean that we would keep the blockade on Iran because the blockade has been probably more powerful than any attack that was ever made on that country,” Trump said.The comments came amid growing friction between Washington and Tel Aviv over the handling of Iran. According to Financial Times, Trump also spoke with Netanyahu following the missile attack and urged him not to retaliate as the United States continues to pursue a diplomatic settlement with Tehran.Iran said the attack was carried out in response to an Israeli strike on Hezbollah-linked targets in Beirut’s Dahieh district. Tehran has repeatedly stated that a lasting ceasefire involving Israel and Hezbollah remains a key condition for any broader agreement with Washington.
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The United States and Iran have been engaged in indirect negotiations in recent months in an effort to ease regional tensions and reach an agreement on a range of issues, including Iran’s nuclear programme and sanctions relief. However, repeated military exchanges between Iran, Israel and Tehran-backed groups across the region have continued to cast uncertainty over the diplomatic process.
