President Donald Trump insisted again Tuesday that a deal to end the war with Iran could be just days away.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.Hours after the president’s latest optimistic assessment, Israel renewed its military assault in Lebanon, striking the southern city of Tyre and issuing an evacuation warning that for the first time included the port’s Christian quarter.The attacks risked renewed fighting with Tehran, a day after clashes that had threatened a return to all-out war.The U.S.
military meanwhile said it had used unmanned boats to rescue two soldiers whose helicopter went down near the flashpoint Strait of Hormuz.“We’re in the final throes of what will be a very, very good deal,” Trump said early Tuesday of talks to end the war that the U.S.and Israel began in late February.
He said the agreement would reopen the crucial waterway and ensure Iran would not be able to obtain nuclear weapons in “any way, shape or form.” His comments came after Israel and Iran agreed to step back from their first direct exchange since the April ceasefire, triggered when Tehran launched fresh strikes in response to an attack by Israel on the Lebanese capital Beirut over the weekend.Israel responded and the two sides exchanged attacks before stepping back after Trump’s calls for de-escalation.Trump said Tuesday that he’d had a “very good conversation” with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the fighting.
“He was hit, and he hit back, and I can’t blame him for that,” Trump told reporters, adding that both sides “agreed, through me, to stop.” Trump had said publicly he’d urge Netanyahu not to retaliate against the Iranian strikes, raising questions about his influence over the U.S.ally.
Iranian state media said Tuesday that at least two members of an air defense unit had been killed in the Israeli attacks, with the semiofficial Tasnim news agency saying t...