'Get me Bibi', says Trump as he brokers a ceasefire between Israel, Iran

US President Donald Trump called for talks with Israel and Iran in an attempt to broker a ceasefire deal and said, “Get me Bibi. We’re going to make peace”, Reuters reported, citing a senior White House official. A deal was brokered between the two sides on Monday (local time).

 

While Trump spoke with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US Vice President JD Vance held talks with officials in Tehran. Trump called for talks on Saturday night, hours after the US struck nuclear facilities in Iran and joined Israel in its fight against Iran. The official said that Trump directed his team on Saturday night and asked them to get on the phone with the Iranians.

 

 

The report stated that Israel agreed to a ceasefire deal as long as Iran promises not to launch fresh attacks. Iran also signalled its intent not to launch any more attacks.

 

JD Vance, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and US special envoy Steve Witkoff were part of the direct and indirect communications with Iran, the report added.

 

Iran launched a missile attack against a US air base after the US bombers dropped 30,000-pound bunker-busters on Iranian underground nuclear facilities over the weekend. However, no casualties were reported at the US air base. 

 

US-Iran talks 

Reuters reported that the Trump administration negotiated with Iran on five different occasions in the weeks leading up to the conflict; however, Iran did not back down from its demand of continuing to enrich uranium, leading to fall out in the talks between the two.

 

On June 19, Trump announced that he would make a decision on the use of American force “within two weeks”; however, by June 21, he ordered the bombing of nuclear facilities in Iran. 

 

The decision to bomb nuclear facilities in Iran marked a change in stance that Trump had long vowed to avoid intervening militarily in a major foreign war

 

Israel-Iran war 

On June 13, Israel launched ‘Operation Rising Lion’ and targeted nuclear sites in Iran’s capital city. The conflict escalated after tensions rose over Iran’s rapidly advancing nuclear programme. Hours after Israeli strikes, Iran retaliated and launched counterstrikes. Tensions escalated soon after with both sides launching fresh strikes in retaliation and resulting in the loss of lives, including some of the top Iranian leaders like Hossein Salami, the chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC).