TOI Washington correspondentU.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday issued a dramatic public rebuke to Tel Aviv, urging all parties to exercise restraint over an Israeli attack on Beirut that threatens to derail what he has repeatedly said is an imminent peace deal with Iran. Although he confidently predicted that the deal would be signed on Sunday, it had not materialized as of press time. “This morning’s attack on Beirut should not have happened,” Trump declared on “The Truth Society.” “We are very close to an agreement that will bring peace to the region, including Lebanon… This could be the beginning of a long and beautiful peace… Let’s not mess this up!” The US president said that while Israel has the right to defend against threats, the attacks it responded to “were very small and senseless, and no one was hurt, injured or killed and should not disrupt this important process.”“The unusually direct message reflects the White House’s growing frustration with Israel’s apparent determination to maintain military pressure on Hezbollah and Iran’s regional allies, even as Washington races to reach a broader understanding with Tehran. Regional analysts believe that Israel’s attack on Beirut’s southern suburbs was not just an operational response to a “senseless” attack by Hezbollah, but a carefully planned diplomatic middle finger. Tel Aviv reportedly believes Trump – ever eager for diplomatic drama – is offering Iran more concessions than they deem prudent. Reported inducements include lifting sanctions, releasing frozen Iranian assets and a phased reopening of sea lanes in the Strait of Hormuz, which would revive Iran’s economy. The result was a geopolitical spectacle worthy of reality TV: America’s closest Middle Eastern allies appeared to undermine a signature foreign policy initiative by a president who bills himself as the world’s ultimate dealmaker — all in a cage fight on the White House lawn to celebrate his 80th birthday. The peace deal itself remains dangerously close, yet maddeningly out of reach. Trump had confidently predicted that the deal would be signed on Sunday, but apparently Tehran has not yet received the memo. Iranian officials have pushed back against the White House’s timeline and mocked Trump, while insisting that while talks are making progress, there are still technical and political issues that need to be reviewed. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghay warned against “premature announcements” and stressed that a final signing date had not yet been agreed upon. Iranian negotiators also cited the Beirut attack as evidence that regional stability guarantees remain uncertain. Tehran’s message is simple: Diplomatic agreements and timetables will not be drawn up like Trump’s immediate campaign rally schedule. Meanwhile, Vice President Vance remains on standby and will fly to Geneva at short notice should negotiations suddenly reach an agreement. This isn’t the first time he’s been appointed as Trump’s traveling envoy, as his supporters fear he’s being thrown into a blender that won’t do his political future any good. Trump sent Vance to Pakistan for talks with Iranian negotiators earlier this year, and he remains wary of follow-up visits as talks progress. In some “Make America Great Again” circles, the vice president is considered the administration’s equivalent of a backup goalie — constantly warming up on the sidelines while awaiting the president’s latest improvisation.The broader atmosphere surrounding the talks has not reassured U.S. allies. Analysts say Trump’s foreign policy falls somewhere between strategic ambiguity and free jazz, with critics harsher, imitating Shakespeare and claiming it is full of sound and fury and meaningless. Policy announcements are made via Truth Society posts, deadlines appear and disappear, military action is threatened in one message and paused in the next.It’s all unfolding as Trump prepares to head to Europe on Monday for a G-7 meeting – where he has previously treated allies and partners with boxing-style rhetoric – after watching a cage fight on the White House lawn. This phenomenon has baffled diplomats, many of whom have extensive training in nuclear deterrence doctrine but somehow failed to foresee conducting Middle East peace analysis in the context of the UFC’s demise. But for now, Sunday’s high-profile signing in Switzerland remains a diplomatic phantom, while the prospect of bloodshed in a UFC cage fight remains a real reality.
