Trump Says In ‘Final Throes’ Of 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

Meanwhile, Israel and Iran appeared to back away from further strikes on Monday, hours after they traded fire for the first time since the U.S. agreed to a ceasefire with Tehran two months ago. Both countries warned that they were ready to launch retaliatory attacks if provoked. The renewed hostilities raised concerns that the Middle East could plunge back into a full-scale war.

Since the US and Israel began striking Iran on Feb. 28, the war has shaken the global economy, driven up energy prices around the world and made many basics, including food, more expensive. Officials have been unable to turn the April ceasefire into a deal to permanently end the conflict.

The new attacks prompted U.S. President Donald Trump to call for an immediate stop to fighting between Israel and Iran. Soon after, the Iranian military’s joint command issued a statement that said it was halting offensive strikes. The statement said further “aggression and hostile acts” by Israel and its supporters, including in southern Lebanon, would be met with “much more severe and crushing measures than before.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking in a videotaped statement, implied that the current round of fighting was over. But he also warned that if Iran “makes the mistake and returns to attacking us, we will respond with force.” Netanyahu said Israel is continuing to operate in Lebanon against the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah, and that Israel “has full right to self-defence, and we will exercise it to the full extent necessary.”

Meanwhile, the Lebanese Health Ministry said an Israeli airstrike on the village of Zefta killed seven people Monday, including a Syrian child. Eight people were wounded. Another strike on the coastal city of Tyre killed five and wounded eight, some of them members of the Lebanese Red Cross, the ministry said. Both countries lifted the restrictions they had imposed as safety precautions.