A visibly frustrated President Donald Trump addressed reporters before departing the White House for the NATO summit early Tuesday, expressing that he was not happy with both Israel and Iran violating the announced ceasefire in the hours after it was supposed to take effect.
The still-tenuous ceasefire agreement between Israel and Iran appeared to be holding as of midday Tuesday, but earlier in the day it looked less certain.
Trump acknowledged that both countries violated the terms of the ceasefire agreement in the hours after he announced the terms of the agreement on Monday afternoon.
“Israel, as soon as we made the deal, they came out and they dropped a load of bombs, the likes of which I’ve never seen before. The biggest load that we’ve ever seen. I’m not happy with Israel,” Trump said. “You know, when I say, ‘Okay, now you have 12 hours,’ you don’t go out in the first hour, just drop everything you have on them.”
“So I’m not happy with them,” he continued. “I’m not happy with Iran either.”
Trump later said that both Israel and Iran had been “fighting so long and so hard that they don’t know what the (expletive) they’re doing.”
His remarks came early Tuesday, hours after he called the conflict the “12 Day War.”
Despite the announced agreement, strikes rang out from both Israel and Iran overnight, with residents in Tehran reporting some of the most intense and sustained airstrikes since the start of the war, The New York Times reported.
And early Tuesday morning local time in Israel, a missile hit a residential building in Israel, killing four people.
Trump’s frustration came after a Tuesday post from 1 a.m. asked both sides to “PLEASE” not violate the ceasefire.
After speaking with reporters at the White House, he was en route to the NATO summit. Aboard Air Force One, he posted on Truth Social, warning Israel.
“ISRAEL. DO NOT DROP THOSE BOMBS. IF YOU DO IT IS A MAJOR VIOLATION,” he wrote Tuesday morning. “BRING YOUR PILOTS HOME, NOW!”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu scaled back Israel’s planned retaliation against Iran’s early Tuesday strikes in Beersheba, Israel.
Trump and Netanyahu spoke on the phone after Trump’s post. A White House source said Trump was “exceptionally firm” with the Israeli prime minister about sustaining the ceasefire and Netanyahu understood Trump’s severity, The Associated Press reported.
Trump then posted, “ISRAEL is not going to attack Iran. All planes will turn around and head home, while doing a friendly ‘Plane Wave’ to Iran. Nobody will be hurt, the Ceasefire is in effect! Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
Trump also expressed confidence in the recent U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, further dispelling concerns that Iran moved its uranium before the attack. He said Iran won’t have enrichment and “they’re not going to have a nuclear weapon,” predicting that Iran will “get on to being a great trading nation” in the future.
Utah delegation weighs in
Utah Sen. John Curtis joined CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on Monday evening to discuss the latest developments in the Middle East.
He noted that he thinks it’s very important for the U.S. to find out where the uranium is, and said he thinks it may be a “lost treasure” situation, where people will be looking for it “forever.”
“Personally, I would like closure,” he said. “So, I’d like to know, and we may not get that, but it would be nice to have that closure and know exactly what happened to it.”
Curtis also shares Trump’s view that they hope one day the region can be prosperous and countries in the Middle East can work together. He highlighted the success of the “peace through strength” mentality and thinks what has developed is “exciting news” that could reshape the region.
Asked by Collins what he thought about the ceasefire holding between the two countries, Curtis said he thinks people need to be “incredibly positive.”
“We started this day with a lot of turmoil, a lot of uncertainty, not sure if Iran was going to strike and how they would strike, and not only do we have a ceasefire, but we have a very unusual strike from Iran where they notified this was going to happen, very symbolic, but not a real serious one,” Curtis said. “And now tonight, the hope that we’re actually tying a bow around this and can move forward with peace in the region is just great news.”
Rep. Celeste Maloy welcomed the ceasefire announcement as a “welcome step toward de-escalation” and said it was a reminder that American leadership through “peace through strength makes a difference.”
Rep. Burgess Owens agreed, sharing Trump’s announcement online and saying “PEACE through STRENGTH,” and thanking the president.