Trump insists negotiations are continuing despite Israel and Iran trading strikes
Iran and Israel striking each other threatens the fragile ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran has been in place since early April.
KickT
A man checks a fallen rocket half-buried in the ground on the outskirts of Jericho on June 8, 2026, following Iranian and Iran-backed Houthi rebel attacks. Israel and Iran traded fire on June 8, seriously testing a fragile truce and threating hopes for a deal to end the Middle East war. (Photo by Ahmad GHARABLI / AFP via Getty Images) /
Ahmad Gharabli | Afp | Getty Images
U.S. President Donald Trump has insisted negotiations in the Middle East are continuing, despite Iran and Israel trading strikes for the first time since a ceasefire came into effect in April.
"Both sides, Israel and Iran, are looking to do an immediate CEASEFIRE! Final negotiations on "Peace" are proceeding, subject to ignorance or stupidity getting in its way. The Blockade will remain in place, and in full force and effect, until a "Final Deal" is reached. Things should move quickly," Trump wrote on Truth Social on Monday.
The post came after another short Truth Social post, in which Trump said: "Israel and Iran must immediately stop "shooting.""
Earlier, the Israeli Defense Forces said it carried out a "large-scale strike on strategic defense systems" on Monday, after Iran fired on the country on Sunday.
The Iranian Parliamentary Speaker, MB Ghalibaf, said in a post to X on Sunday that the U.S. "naval blockade and violation of agreements regarding Lebanon" amounted to violations of the ceasefire.
On Monday morning, the IDF posted on X that it had "identified that missiles were launched from Iran toward the territory of the State of Israel a short while ago."
"Defense systems are operating to intercept the threat," it added.
Earlier, the White House confirmed to MS NOW that he had been briefed on renewed fighting. Axios first reported the briefing.
Axios later reported that Trump would call Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to urge him not to strike back, before Israel's retaliatory strikes.
Ghalibaf said that the military activity in Lebanon and the ongoing U.S. blockade made "American and regime bases and assets in the region into legitimate targets," according to a translation on X.
In Tehran, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told journalists on Monday that the U.S. was "responsible for the consequences of any escalation," per the AP.
The Associated Press reported Sunday that Israel said Iran had launched missiles at it, and the Israeli Defence Forces said they were operating defensive systems after identifying the missiles. Early Monday local time, IDF announced in a post on X that it had "struck military targets belonging to the Iranian terror regime in western and central Iran a short while ago."
A streak of light illuminates the sky during a missile attack from Iran towards Israel as seen from Ashkelon, Israel, on June 7, 2026.
Amir Cohen | Reuters
Trump on Sunday told Fox News that the missile attacks are "certainly not going to help negotiations."
In a statement to The New York Times, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said the ceasefire "was conditional on a cease-fire on all fronts."
"Tonight's operation was a warning, and if aggressions are repeated, the responses will be broader," the statement read.
A White House official, granted anonymity to speak candidly, told MS NOW that Trump underestimated the willingness of Iran to restart the conflict.
"The recent negotiations with Iran in many ways have exposed a fundamental miscalculation from Trump and the White House," the official said. The official also said that Iran's "erratic behavior" has placed the president in an incredibly challenging situation with no imminent off-ramp.
In a later phone call with the Financial Times, Trump said Netanyahu "won't have any choice" but to accept a deal that the U.S. negotiates with Iran, because the U.S. president "calls the shots."
It's less clear whether Iran still wants to make a deal with the U.S.
An Iranian official linked to the talks between Washington and Tehran told MS NOW that "a deal with President Trump is no longer feasible at this stage."
The official blamed Trump for the situation in Lebanon and the current escalation in hostilities.
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The fragile ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran has been in place since early April. But fighting between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon has complicated the temporary peace as negotiators struggle to broker a deal to end the conflict.
Iran has demanded an end to hostilities in Lebanon and a halt to the U.S. blockade of its ports and ships. The U.S., in turn, is demanding that Iran hand over its nuclear material and agree to never obtain a nuclear weapon.
The Trump administration is reportedly considering redirecting Iranian assets to allied Gulf states to pay for rebuilding damage done by Iranian strikes.
Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi appeared to respond to those reports by saying that regional governments were "not in a position to demand reparations," Reuters reported Sunday.
Gharibabadi said in a post on X that Iran's assets were "neither war spoils for Washington nor a payment fund for its allies."
