Trump says in 'final throes' of Middle East peace deal

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he was in the “final throes” of reaching a Middle East peace deal.

“We’re in the final throes of what will be a very, very good deal,” he told reporters on his return from an NBA Finals game.

When asked whether it would be matter of days or weeks, he said it would take “two or three days.”

Iran and Israel said Monday that hostilities between them had halted, after the two countries exchanged strikes that threatened to reignite the Middle East war.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that the “fire on that front is contained” hours after Tehran said it had stopped its military action.

Tehran launched missiles at Israel on Sunday over Israel’s ongoing war against Hezbollah in Lebanon. Israel then struck back, despite efforts by US President Donald Trump to dissuade Netanyahu.

That triggered another round of Iranian missiles, before Tehran announced it would cease fire.

Iran has sought to tie its truce with the United States — in place since April 8 despite repeated attacks by both sides — to Israel’s war against Hezbollah, warning that attacks on Lebanon would force it to act.

Tehran said on Monday it would attack again if Israel persisted with its strikes in Lebanon, while Netanyahu warned in turn that should Iran “make the mistake of resuming attacks against us, we will respond with full force”.

Earlier, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz insisted that the campaign in Lebanon would carry on regardless and said Israel would strike the Hezbollah-dominated southern suburbs of Beirut in retaliation for each attack on northern Israel by the militant group.

Trump, who has reportedly grown increasingly exasperated with Netanyahu, had earlier urged both sides to stop “shooting” and said that “final negotiations” towards peace would proceed “subject to ignorance or stupidity getting in its way”.

The Israeli premier, though, said in a televised statement he had told Trump that “Israel has a full right to self-defence, and we are exercising it as required”.