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A phone call between U.S. President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ended Sunday as an Israeli military commander said Israel would retaliate against Iran as soon as it received the go-ahead, setting up a direct clash between Washington's push for restraint and Israel's stated intentions.
A US official confirmed to Axios that Trump had made the call with Netanyahu. The same official separately said the United States was "not part of what is happening now," distancing Washington from the Iranian missile strikes on Israel.
The Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported that the United States conveyed a message to Israel stating it was preferable to wait a few days to see whether a deal could be reached. Washington also warned Israel not to squander the opportunity by being dragged into a limited exchange of strikes, and said it would proceed with a joint operation as planned if no agreement was reached.
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Iran's Foreign Ministry said the attacks on military targets north of Israel came within the framework of the right to legitimate defense, following what it described as violations of the ceasefire. The ministry also said Lebanon was an integral part of the ceasefire agreement and held Washington directly responsible for Israel's violations.
A source in Pakistan's Foreign Ministry told MSN that Iran had shown signs of progress toward approving a memorandum of understanding, and that a recent visit by Pakistan's interior minister to Tehran had been positive.
The US State Department, meanwhile, set June 22 as the date for a new round of talks between Israel and Lebanon, according to the New York Times.
The US Embassy in Israel directed all government employees and their family members to shelter in place as the missile exchanges continued. Israeli airstrikes also hit the towns of Al-Siksakiyeh and Zifta and the outskirts of Kafr Kila in southern Lebanon during the same period.
Iran's Tasnim Agency reported that air defense system tests were conducted at Tabriz International Airport. Araghchi also spoke with his French counterpart, according to the Iranian Foreign Ministry, discussing Iran's response to what Tehran called repeated Israeli violations of the ceasefire in Lebanon.
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