Former U.S. President Donald Trump has strongly rebuked Israel for launching major airstrikes on Iran shortly after a ceasefire was declared — a deal he claimed to have brokered himself.
“I didn’t like the fact that Israel unloaded right after we made the deal. They didn’t have to unload, and I didn’t like the fact that the retaliation was very strong,” Trump told reporters Tuesday.
The ceasefire, announced earlier that day on Trump’s Truth Social post — “THE CEASEFIRE IS NOW IN EFFECT. PLEASE DO NOT VIOLATE IT!” — was meant to de-escalate rising tensions. However, both sides were accused of violating it within hours.
“In all fairness, Israel unloaded a lot, and now I hear Israel just went out because they felt it was violated by one rocket that didn’t land anywhere. That’s not what we want,” Trump added.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said the strikes targeted Tehran in response to alleged Iranian missile fire. Iran, however, denied the accusation and claimed Israel’s attacks extended more than an hour past the ceasefire start.
“I gotta get Israel to calm down now,” Trump said, noting that both nations had been “fighting so long and so hard that they don’t know what the fuck they’re doing.”
Asked if he supported regime change in Iran, Trump responded, “No… Regime change takes chaos and ideally we don’t want to see so much chaos.”
