President Donald Trump didn’t hold back as he lashed out at both Israel and Iran over their continued military clashes.
On Tuesday (June 24), the 79-year-old president spoke to reporters at the White House before boarding Marine One for a NATO summit. Check out Trump's comments below:
His comments, laced with frustration, came after renewed violence between Israel and Iran despite his earlier announcement of a ceasefire.
“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 seen,” Trump said. “I’m not happy with Israel."
Trump continued: "You don’t go out in the first hour and just drop everything you have on them. So I’m not happy with them. I’m not happy with Iran either."
The POTUS didn’t mince words when he added: “We basically have two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don’t know what the f*** they’re doing."
The US president's anger followed a rapid escalation in violence, following Israeli and U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities over the weekend.
Israeli fighter jets conducted overnight attacks on military infrastructure in Kermanshah. Defense Minister Israel Katz later confirmed a wave of “intense strikes against regime targets in the heart of Tehran,” according to Sky News.
The Israeli military claimed it had “severely struck government targets in the heart of Tehran,” killed “another senior nuclear scientist,” and achieved “full air control over Tehran's skies.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, via NBC News, said the operation - dubbed Rising Lion - had “removed a dual immediate existential threat” from Iran’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.
In response, Iran launched a limited missile attack on a U.S. military base in Qatar on Monday, June 24, which Tehran claimed was retaliation for American airstrikes on three of its nuclear facilities over the weekend.
Despite Trump’s announcement of a ceasefire on Truth Social, which read: “THE CEASEFIRE IS NOW IN EFFECT. PLEASE DO NOT VIOLATE IT!” - the violence continued.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi denied that a formal ceasefire deal existed. “There is no ceasefire agreement with Israel,” he stated. However, he added, “[Iran] has no intention to continue military operations if Israel stops its attacks,” which Trump said were scheduled to wind down later on Tuesday.
Yet hostilities resumed at dawn, with Israeli sirens sounding just before 6:00AM, despite Iran’s claims that its retaliation had ceased at 4:00AM. One missile hit a residential building in southern Israel, killing four civilians and injuring at least a dozen more.
The conflict has now entered its twelfth day. According to Human Rights Activists cited by the Associated Press, Israeli airstrikes in Iran have killed at least 950 people and wounded 3,450, including both military and civilian casualties. Meanwhile, Iran’s missile attacks have claimed 24 lives in Israel, per CBS News.
In a stark warning, Israeli leadership indicated they were prepared to strike again. “Israel will respond forcefully to any violation of the ceasefire,” Netanyahu warned, as reported by BBC News.
The Israel Defense Forces also urged civilians to remain alert. “The public is requested to follow the instructions of the Home Front Command. At this time, the Air Force is operating to intercept and strike wherever necessary to eliminate the threat,” the IDF stated.
With Trump now openly criticizing both allies and adversaries, the fragile truce appears to be unraveling.