Iran-US war latest: Israel and Lebanon agree ceasefire as US House votes to limit Trump’s war powers – UK Times

President Donald Trump has ⁠told aides ​privately ⁠that he ⁠would consider ​ending ⁠the ceasefire ‌with Iran if Tehran ‌kills American troops, ‌the Wall ⁠Street Journal reported.

Trump’s remarks on avoid renewal of a full-scale war comes as the US and Iran traded a series of air strikes over the past week, testing an already fragile ceasefire between both nations.

“The president’s reluctance to reignite the war suggests he might be willing to withstand smaller flare-ups for weeks—or even months—to avoid a broader conflict in the Middle East,” the WSJ reported.

US president Donald Trump has acknowledged calling Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu “crazy” in an expletive-filled phone exchange over fighting in Lebanon, while the ‌US was trying to negotiate an end to hostilities with Iran.

In an interview broadcast yesterday, Trump was asked whether he had called the longtime Israeli leader “effing crazy” and accused him of ingratitude, paraphrasing a report by Axios.

“I did,” Trump told the “Pod Force One” podcast. “I wouldn’t say angry. I was a little bit perturbed at his constantly fighting with ​Lebanon, you know.”Trump went on to say he and Netanyahu get along very well.

According to the Axios report, which cited an unidentified ​US official, Trump said to Netanyahu in a call on Monday: “You’re f****** crazy. You’d be in prison if it ⁠weren’t for me. I’m saving your ass. Everybody hates you now. Everybody hates Israel because of this.”

Trump said in the interview: “At some point, I said, ​Bibi, we got to stop this. We got to stop it.”

“I’m the one that started it”, the president insisted. “I started it because we can’t let them [Iran] have a nuclear weapon. If there wasn’t me there would be no Israel right now”.

An Indian national was killed after Kuwait’s main airport was struck with drones yesterday, which wounded dozens of others and forced the closure of the airfield.

Kuwait’s defence ministry said it destroyed over a dozen missiles and a similar number of drones from Iran. Authorities said 63 were wounded, including passengers and workers, and some suffered serious injuries.

India’s embassy in Kuwait later confirmed that the person killed was an Indian national.

Representatives from Israel, Lebanon and the United States met Tuesday and Wednesday for talks, which resulted in a ceasefire agreement.

During the talks, Israel reaffirmed that its security could only be achieved through the disarmament of Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group that has been trading attacks with Israel.

“It emphasized the importance of direct negotiations under the leadership of the United States to resolve all outstanding issues and achieve durable peace and security”, according to a joint statement from Israel, Lebanon and the US issued Wednesday.

Lebanon maintained that there was an “urgent need” to end hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah during the talks.

It “reaffirmed the necessity for mutual respect of internationally recognized borders, the urgent need for full implementation of the cessation of hostilities, underscoring the principles of territorial integrity and full state sovereignty”, according to the statement.

Israel and Lebanon have agreed on a ceasefire as fighting has escalated with Hezbollah.

The ceasefire was announced in a joint statement after representatives from Israel, Lebanon and the US met on Tuesday and Wednesday.

A pause in fighting “is contingent on a complete cessation of Hizbollah fire and the evacuation of all Hizbollah operatives from the South Litani Sector”, the statement read.

Hizbollah is another spelling of the Iran-backed Lebanese militia, Hezbollah.

Donald Trump has repeated his desire to obtain Iran’s enriched uranium.

The US president said that under a deal being discussed with Iran, “we will get” Tehran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, which has been a major sticking point in negotiations.

“As it stands now, we will go in at some time in the not too distant future,” he said.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday dismissed questions on whether the shaky ceasefire with Iran is holding by suggesting that the definition of a ceasefire is different in the Middle East region.

Asked whether the ceasefire is still in place after Iran fired missiles against targets in Kuwait, Trump replied that there was “a reason” for the exchange of fire.