US President Donald Trump denied that he had explicitly demanded Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stop Israel’s attacks on Iran, but acknowledged that he urged the Israeli leader to act correctly and bring the strikes to an end as quickly as possible.
Asked by an Al-Arabiya journalist whether he had ordered Netanyahu to halt the attacks, Trump answered: “No.”
However, Trump continued: “I told him to do what’s right, but to stop it as quickly as possible.” The president then broadened his remarks to Israel’s campaign against Hezbollah, adding that “Lebanon has to come to an end also.”
Trump’s response draws a distinction between directly ordering Israel to stop and applying strong political pressure on Netanyahu to rapidly end the military escalation. His comments indicate that Washington is now seeking to prevent further Israeli operations from undermining negotiations for a wider agreement with Iran.