1 of 3 | A Jewish settler walks past the remains of an Iranian ballistic that was removed from sticking out from the desert landscape in the area near Jericho, in the West Bank on Monday, after it was intercepted by Israel and fell to the desert. Photo by Jim Hollander/UPI | License Photo
June 8 (UPI) — Israel has stopped its strikes on Iran on Monday after Iran said it is also halting its attacks as President Donald Trump called for both sides to “immediately stop shooting.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was preparing for a significant attack on Tehran before he was convinced to stand down. Netanyahu said he spoke with Trump who urged him to pause retaliatory strikes.
Trump spoke to Israeli news station Channel 12 about his efforts to reach a ceasefire agreement. He said he warned Netanyahu that he could be “left alone against Iran,” if the escalated strikes continue.
“I told Bibi, you’d better be careful what you do, because you could be left alone against Iran very soon,” Trump said.
The Khatam ol-Anbiya Central Headquarters, Iran’s central command, said it had meted out a “painful” lesson to Israel after a strike on the “oppressed people of Lebanon” in the southern suburbs of Beirut on Sunday, but had now stood down military operations.
“Accordingly, a halt to the operations of the armed forces is announced; but it is emphasized that if the aggressions and evils continue, including in southern Lebanon, much more severe and crushing measures will be on the way,” said Khatam ol-Anbiya Central Headquarters.
The announcement from Tehran came about an hour after Trump appealed via his Truth Social platform for the sides to halt their attacks.
“Israel and Iran must immediately stop ‘shooting,'” he wrote.
In a follow up post about an hour later he said the parties wanted an immediate halt to the hostilities.
“Both sides, Israel and Iran, are looking to do an immediate CEASE-FIRE! 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,” wrote Trump.
The fighting flared Sunday night with Iran firing around 20 missiles into Israel overnight in response to an Israeli strike earlier in the day on a Beirut stronghold of Iran proxy Hezbollah.
The attacks triggered large-scale strikes by Israeli forces against military targets in central and western Iran, including “strategic defense systems” and a petrochemical plant.
Both sides said they anticipated their operations would last for several days.
Trump had expressly requested in a call with Benjamin Netanyahu that, given that the damage was limited and no one was hurt, Israel refrain from striking back against Iran.
The escalation 100 days into the conflict that pits the United States and Israel against Iran, came a week after Trump announced a Israel-Hezbollah truce aimed at preventing the strikes on the Shiite Muslim neighborhood of Dahieh in Beirut by Israel in exchange for Hezbollah halting attacks on Israel.
Trump’s interventions came after Iran threatened to pull out of peace negotiations with the United States, saying Israel’s ongoing military operations in Lebanon violated the terms of the U.S.-Israel-Iran cease-fire that came into force on April 8.
Tehran also warned it would shut the Strait of Hormuz and was looking to “activate” its “resistance front” in other parts of the region.
The fighting in Lebanon has seriously complicated ongoing U.S. efforts to reach a deal with Iran, with Tehran insisting Lebanon is included in the fragile cease-fire and Israel insisting it is an entirely separate front.
Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization said Monday that it will resume flights with military efforts halting. Israel later announced that it is lifting some restrictions in its northern region, allowing people to return to schools and workplaces in large groups.
President Donald Trump discusses renovations to the Lincoln Reflecting Pool and makes an announcement on coal in the Oval Office at the White House on Thursday. Photo by Samuel Corum/UPI | License Photo
