BEDMINSTER, N.J. — President Donald Trump leveled criticism at both Israel and Iran following renewed violence that violated a ceasefire agreement, expressing frustration with actions by both nations and casting doubt on the effectiveness of recent peace efforts.
Asked about Israel’s reported airstrikes following what it claimed was a ceasefire violation by Iran, Trump responded that both countries were to blame.
“I’m not happy with Israel. When I say, ‘Okay, now you have 12 hours,’ you don’t go out in the first hour and just drop everything you have on them,” Trump said. “They came out and they dropped a load of bombs, the likes of which I’ve never seen before.”
Trump added that while he believed Iran remained committed to peace, he was dissatisfied with both sides. “I’m not happy with Iran either. But I’m really unhappy if Israel is going out this morning because the one rocket that didn’t land, that was shot, perhaps by a mistake, that didn’t land. I’m not happy about that.”
In a remark summing up his position, the president said, “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.”
Trump’s remarks come amid heightened tensions in the Middle East following the breakdown of a ceasefire that had been brokered with international support.
