❓WHAT HAPPENED: Israel has defended striking Iranian targets in Tehran hours before a ceasefire went into effect, resulting in Iranian strikes and Israeli counter-strikes after the ceasefire and angering President Donald J. Trump.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Iran, and President Trump.
📍WHEN & WHERE: June 24, 2025, Israel and Iran.
💬KEY QUOTE: “Pursuant to the conversation between President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu, Israel has refrained from additional attacks.” – Office of the Israeli Prime Minister.
🎯IMPACT: President Trump, who intervened in the Israel-Iran war to deliver a decisive blow to Iran’s nuclear facilities, is now adopting a more aggressive diplomatic posture to bring the conflict to a close.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has responded to President Donald J. Trump’s criticism of Israeli forces launching a massive attack on Iran shortly before a ceasefire was due to take effect, resulting in subsequent violations by both parties.
According to a statement from Netanyahu’s office, the Israeli Air Force “forcefully attacked in the heart of Tehran, struck regime targets and eliminated hundreds of Basij and Iranian security forces personnel” at 03:00 AM, just hours before a scheduled ceasefire was to begin at 07:00 AM.
“Shortly before the ceasefire was due to take effect, Iran launched a barrage of missiles, one of which took the lives of four of our citizens in Be’er Sheva,” the statement continues, asserting that six minutes after the ceasefire took effect at 07:00 AM, “Iran launched one missile at Israeli territory, and two additional missiles at 10:25.”
Despite acknowledging that the missiles “were either intercepted or fell in open areas, and caused neither casualties nor damage,” the Israeli statement defends subsequent strikes on Iran as a response to the Islamic Republic’s “violations.”
President Trump was highly critical of Israel’s actions on Tuesday morning, saying, “Israel, as soon as we made the deal, they came out and they dropped a load of bombs the likes of which I’ve never seen before. The biggest load that we’ve seen.”
“I’m not happy with Israel. You know, when I say, ‘OK, now you have 12 hours,’ you don’t go out in the first hour and just drop everything you have on them,” he continued, adding that Israel and Iran “don’t know what the f**k they’re doing.”
Despite defending its strikes before the ceasefire officially went into effect, Netanyahu’s office acknowledged that, “Pursuant to the conversation between President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu, Israel has refrained from additional attacks.”
The Israeli statement added that, “In the conversation, President Trump expressed his great appreciation for Israel, which achieved all of its objectives for the war, as well as his confidence in the stability of the ceasefire.”
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