Trump says Iran peace deal in 'a few hours', blames Israel for delay

WASHINGTON, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 15th Jun, 2026) US President Donald Trump said Sunday that a peace deal with Iran was still on track to be signed within hours,

but angrily blamed Israel for a temporary delay.

He condemned an Israeli airstrike on Beirut, stating the attack "should not have happened" while negotiations were finalizing, and said Israel's actions have set the signing timeline back by a few hours.

"It shook it up. It delayed the signing by a few hours. It was supposed to be now. Now it is scheduled for a few hours from now,” Trump said in a phone call to the Axios news outlet.

Trump voiced his outrage at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the attack on Beirut, saying, “it is so bad — I couldn’t believe it. An hour before we are supposed to sign the deal.”

Earlier, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had expressed confidence that the accord would be signed within the next 24 hours, indicating that talks had entered their final stages.

On his part, Iran insists that any agreement to halt the war must include the parallel conflict in Lebanon, where Israel has been attacking Iran-backed Hezbollah fighters.

Earlier, Trump said an Israeli strike on Beirut “should not have happened” after it triggered a strong protest from Iran, casting doubt on the US president’s pledge that a peace deal would be signed Sunday.

The attack does not appear to have entirely dashed hopes for an accord, however, with both sides signaling channels of dialogue were still open, and Trump maintaining a deal was still “close.

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Trump — who over weeks of negotiations has repeatedly declared an accord with Iran was all but concluded — said after the attack that a deal was still at hand, urging those involved not to “blow it.”

“We are very close to a Deal that will bring peace to the region, including to Lebanon, and all sides should stand down,” Trump said on social media.

“This morning’s attack on Beirut should not have happened, particularly on a special day,” he added, possibly a reference to his hopes of a signing on Sunday, his 80th birthday.

But after days of momentum building toward a deal, Sunday’s strike in Beirut’s southern suburbs — a Hezbollah stronghold — prompted Iran’s chief negotiator to question the point of continuing peace talks.

The attack “showed that the United States either lacks the will to implement its commitments or lacks the ability to do so,” Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on X.

“If you do not have the will or the ability to fulfil your commitments, then there is no point in talking about continuing down this path,” he added.

In a sign that a diplomatic off-ramp was still available, Iran’s president said Sunday that the country’s highest security body supported negotiations despite criticism from hard-liners.

“The Supreme National Security Council has concluded that the path of dialogue should be pursued,” President Masoud Pezeshkian said, pointedly adding that the council was in charge of “decisions regarding war and negotiations.”