The US president said both sides “had their fun” and must stop, after Tehran fired missiles at Israel in response to a Beirut strike.
The Israel Defense Forces have carried out an air raid on Tehran, even after US President Donald Trump spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and reportedly urged him not to escalate tensions further.
Iran fired a missile barrage at Israel in retaliation for its intensive aerial bombardment of Beirut on Sunday. Tehran described the attack as a “warning,” saying more “crushing blows” would follow if Israel continued its attacks on Lebanon or retaliated against Iran.
Israel scrambled to respond, with Netanyahu convening an emergency situational assessment and reportedly seeking a green light to strike Iran’s energy facilities in a phone call with Trump.
Trump said the Israeli attacks on Beirut had not been coordinated with Washington and called on both sides to show restraint.
“I am going to call Bibi right now and tell him not to retaliate. Each of them had their fun. Israel had its strike, and Iran had its strike. We don’t need another one,” Trump told Axios.
Israel nevertheless retaliated, with explosions reported in Tehran, Isfahan, Tabriz and Karaj, according to local media.
Israel struck Beirut’s southern suburbs on Sunday without the warning usually issued by the IDF before attacks on densely populated areas. At least two people were killed and 20 wounded in the strike on a residential building, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.
If Israel “expands its attacks in that region or responds to Iran’s action, it will be met with even more crushing and regrettable blows,” Iran’s Khatim Al-Anbiya operational headquarters said after the retaliatory strike.
“Tonight Tehran must burn!” Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir wrote on X.
“I call all the shots. He doesn’t call the shots,” Trump told the Financial Times, adding that Netanyahu “won’t have any choice” but to eventually accept an agreement between Washington and Tehran.
