Iran Strikes Israel As Trump Promises A Cease Fire Agreement!

James Kaufman, World News Report, today. Ladies and gentlemen, Iran has struck Israel. Retaliation for Israel's strike on Lebanon and Hezbollah today. Now, this is not good as far as our ceasefire and peace agreement, although Trump has come out in the last hour or two and said that he'll have a deal signed, a peace deal signed with Iran, which won't be worth the paper it's written on by Monday, Wednesday at the latest. I'll have to see it to believe it. Yeah, John, good afternoon. Iran has launched at least four waves of missiles at Israel in response to those IDF strikes against the Lebanese capital of Beirut earlier today. I just got off the phone with President Trump, who is following the developing situation across the region. He told me, what I would suggest to Iran, you've shot your missiles, that's enough. Get back to the table and make a deal. The president, once again, calling for a negotiated settlement. He also spoke about the ongoing negotiations with Iran, saying we are very close. I would say an agreement would be signed on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday of this coming week. And now this takes place. And so the president will get briefed on what is happening right now, this ongoing Iranian ballistic missile attack against Israel. But I asked him about those initial IDF strikes that took place earlier today. He told me they were not coordinated with the United States. And I asked him for reaction to the Israeli strikes against Hezbollah in Beirut. And President Trump said, I'm not happy about it. Now, more broadly, he said that the ongoing Iranian missile fire toward Israel at this moment certainly is not going to help the negotiations. But again, he is calling on the Iranians to stop firing these missiles and get back to the negotiating table to ultimately reach a settlement. The president talked about the power of the U.S. military and also the power of the ongoing U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports. This blockade, John, is currently crippling the Iranian economy. They are losing hundreds of millions of dollars each and every day. And that's part of the reason that President Trump has been able to maintain this strategic patience across the Middle East, understanding that while the United States remains on alert in the region, They simply have to keep this blockade in place, and it will push the Iranians to the negotiating table because they are running out of options with their economy under so much pressure. We know that Iranian exports are down 90%. They're currently extracting crude oil at a 50% rate as a result of this U.S. naval blockade. And officials in the region tell Fox News it is only going to get worse. As for the current situation across the region, We know that people in the northern part of Israel remain in bomb shelters at this hour. There is concern that the Iranians may continue this ballistic missile attack against Israel. We don't know the exact number of missiles that were used in the first wave. There were four Iranian ballistic missiles, and then there were three additional waves, again, in response to the IDF strikes that took place earlier today against Hezbollah in Beirut. Again, President Trump was telling Fox News he was not happy about those Israeli strikes and indicated that a deal with Iran was just days away. At this moment, he is likely being briefed on the situation. But again, the president suggesting to Iran, quote, you've shot your missiles, that's enough. Get back to the table and make a deal. Again, President Trump looking for a negotiated settlement. Again, Iran goes with no punishment or retaliation whatsoever. ...in the world and remains on alert, suggesting that the Iranians make a deal so he doesn't have to use the military again. John. Yeah, it would seem that the Iranians think they can wait the president out. They can stall. They can negotiate or, you know, pretend to negotiate and hope that the November elections result in some easing of the sanctions against them. Tough to know what the president, I imagine he wouldn't tell you exactly what his thinking is on that score, But tough to know what the president is going to decide there, Trey. Yeah, absolutely. And look, this is a president who has been able to stop numerous wars around the world and, according to foreign officials, save millions of lives. And he's trying to do the same thing in the Middle East, but he is up against a challenging counterpart in terms of negotiation. Because the president, according to the call that we just had, really understands the situation. He understands the partnership between the United States and Israel. But he also understands that for the past 47 years, the Iranians have been conducting the same behavior over and over again. They've not only been attacking U.S. forces, but they've been supporting these regional proxies like Hamas, the Houthis, and Hezbollah to launch attacks against U.S. allies. And so the president is trying to reach an agreement here that's going to do a few things. One, it's going to open the Strait of Hormuz to international shipping. Two, it's going to ensure that Iran never has a path to a nuclear weapon and that all of the highly enriched uranium and all enriched uranium is either exported from Iranian territory or destroyed on site. And then finally, creating a stable situation across the Middle East that would allow for some of these broader ideas that the president has. Remember, President Trump has called on regional countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar and others to join the Abraham Accords because he sees this as an opportunity. In the aftermath of Operation Epic Fury, a 40-day military operation, he believes, and again, right now, there's a lot of activity happening in Israel, and I'm just turning around, there are still alerts coming out from Israel's Home Front Command at this moment, but we are getting a new statement, John, right now. I just want to read it to you from Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps that said their attacks on Israel this evening were a, quote, warning of broader response that would encompass all U.S. and Israeli targets in the region if aggressions are repeated. And a senior Iranian official speaking to Reuters says all U.S. bases in the region will be considered legitimate targets for Tehran if Israel attacks. So again, following four waves of Iranian ballistic missiles that targeted Israel's third largest city of Haifa and nearly the entirety of this country, the region is bracing to see if Israel will respond. This was a significant attack against the civilian population of Israel. John. Yeah. And, you know, it would seem that if if Iran is saying these attacks were a warning that maybe they are done for now. But we'll get back to you in just a few minutes and see if there is, first of all, any response from the Israelis or the United States and see if the missiles continue to rain down on Israel. Trey Yinks doing a great job. Unbelievable. Again, this is about the third time, fourth time, four strikes on Israel. We had Kuwait hit. We had the UAE hit yesterday. Nothing's being done. Nothing's being fired at Iran whatsoever. We look pitiful in the eyes of the world. And Iran still controls the Strait of Hormuz That's pitiful by itself. That said, guys, Iran has attacked Israel four times, and they are waiting on more missiles inbound. Please give us a thumbs up, share, and always remember, anything's possible. Bizarro world.