JERUSALEM, Israel – Israelis are on edge as President Trump seems ready to sign a deal with Iran, even as Hezbollah, Iran’s terror proxy in Lebanon, continues to launch explosive drones at Israel’s northern border.
The U.S. military announced that it carried out “self-defense” strikes in southern Iran. The U.S. targeted two boats attempting to lay mines in the Strait of Hormuz and a missile launch site that targeted U.S. warplanes, according to a report on Fox News.
“US forces conducted self-defense strikes in southern Iran today to protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces,” US Central Command (CENTCOM) spokesperson Capt. Tim Hawkins relayed.
He added, “US Central Command continues to defend our forces while using restraint during the ongoing ceasefire.”
This follows a weekend of positive talk about a possible imminent deal with Iran, which sparked major concerns in Israel.
President Trump posted on Truth Social, “Negotiations with the Islamic Republic of Iran are proceeding nicely! It will only be a great deal for all, or no deal at all – back to the battlefront and shooting, but bigger and stronger than ever before – and nobody wants that!”
During Memorial Day ceremonies, the president honored those who had fallen in the recent war with Iran.
He remarked, to cheers, “In Operation Epic Fury, we lost 13 wonderful souls, wonderful, special people. These incredible men and women gave their lives to ensure that the world’s number one state sponsor of terror will never have a nuclear weapon. Oh, and they won’t. They will never have a nuclear weapon.”
Trump is also asking countries involved in a potential Iran agreement to sign on to the Abraham Accords. Those nations already include the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. Other members could include Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, and Jordan.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio insists the president knows what he’s doing.
“So, we have what I think is a pretty solid thing on the table in terms of their ability to open up the Straits, get the Straits open, enter into a very real, significant, time-limited negotiation on the nuclear matters, and hopefully we can pull it off. It has a lot of support in the Gulf. There’s a lot of support globally,” Rubio stated.
Iran announced that it has no timetable for finalizing an agreement with the U.S., but it will look out for its own interests.
Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmail Baghaei declared, “At this stage, we will in no way be discussing details of the nuclear issue. The 14-point memorandum of understanding is focused on ending the war. If that happens, over a 60-day period, nuclear-related issues will be discussed.”
Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly had an intense conversation about the deal. Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid suggested that the deal means that this is not the last round of fighting.
“The details of the deal between the United States and Iran, though still unclear, are so disturbing. From what is known, what is emerging, the deal is bad for Israel, bad for the region, bad for the citizens of Iran,” Lapid said.
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In the meantime, Iran’s most deadly proxy, Hezbollah, continues its drone strikes against Israeli troops and northern Israel.
Eleven soldiers have been killed since the ceasefire started. Lebanon claims more than 3,000 people have been killed. Hezbollah opposes any agreement with Israel.
Netanyahu pledged that Israel would hit hard against Hezbollah.
“It’s true that they are shooting drones at us, fiber optic drones,” Netanyahu told Israelis, ” We have a special team working on that, and we will solve that too. In the meantime, you are showing resilience. I want to bless the residents of the north’s resilience that inspires all of us. But what this requires of us now is to increase the blows, to increase the intensity. We will smite them with overwhelming force.”
Rubio revealed that the U.S. has held weekly meetings with Lebanon and Israel.
“The problem is not Lebanon and Israel. The problem is Hezbollah,” he said. “Just last night, Hezbollah put out a statement calling for the overthrow of the Lebanese government. And it just reminds you of who you are dealing with here.
Rubio continued, “As long as an armed Hezbollah exists, it’s going to be hard to achieve peace in Lebanon, because they’re victimizing the people of Lebanon. They’re not just attacking Israel. They are victimizing the people of Lebanon, who are paying a tremendous price because of Hezbollah.”
