U.S. peace deal with Iran in question as Israel strikes Lebanon

An anticipated deal to stop the war with Iran and open the Strait of Hormuz hangs in the balance as Israel and Tehran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon traded strikes Sunday.

The Israel Defense Forces on Sunday said in a social media post that they had struck a “Hezbollah command center” in Beirut after Hezbollah launched aerial attacks “against Israeli civilians & IDF soldiers operating in southern Lebanon.” The IDF said it is preparing for more strikes aimed at Israeli territory in a later Telegram post.

The exchange of blows comes after U.S. President Donald Trump claimed that Washington and Tehran would sign an agreement on Sunday to stop the fighting with Iran and open the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump, in a Sunday Truth Social post, said that the Israeli attacks on Beirut “should not have happened, particularly on a special day when we are so close to a Peace Deal with Iran.”

“Israel has the right to defend itself against threats, but the attack it was responding to was very small and meaningless, nobody was hurt, injured, or killed, and should not disrupt this important process,” he wrote. “There should be no more attacks by Israel anywhere in Lebanon, but there should also be no more attacks by any other party, including Hezbollah, against Israel.”

The U.S. president warned the parties not to “blow it.”

The agreement, known as a memorandum of understanding, reportedly includes reopening the Strait of Hormuz and taking steps to dismantle Iran’s nuclear program. It would also end Tehran’s funding of violence and impose an “inspection regime” on the Islamic Republic.

Iran would be rewarded for compliance, including the unfreezing of assets and the easing of sanctions.

Trump later told Fox News that he still expects the agreement to be signed on Sunday, and that he had spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The president reportedly asked Netanyahu, “What the f— are you doing?” and urged the Israeli leader not to conduct any more strikes. He also reportedly said he would tell Iran not to respond.

Trump on Saturday said on Truth Social that he hopes “this process will all work out quickly, easily, and smoothly,” adding the threat that if it does not, “we have the ultimate alternative, hopefully never to be used again!”

An exchange of fire between Israel and Lebanon last week threatened to derail a tenuous ceasefire and reignite the more than three-month-old conflict. The U.S. briefly struck targets in Iran, while Iran lobbed missiles at Israel and other U.S. allies in the region. The proposed deal was announced shortly after the exchange.

But renewed hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah overnight Sunday once again raised doubts that a peace agreement is likely to be struck.

Iranian Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf said in a post to X that the Israeli strikes in Lebanon threaten to upset the deal.

“The Zionists’ incursion into Dahiyeh has once again shown that America either lacks the will to fulfill its commitments or the ability to do so,” he said in the post, according to a translation on X. “If you lack the will and ability to fulfill your commitments, speaking of continuing the path is not possible.”

Still, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz on Sunday said that he remains confident the deal will be signed within the day during an interview on ABC’s “This Week.”

“I’m confident. The team is confident,” he said. “I don’t want to get ahead of the president or the vice president, but they have every intent of getting this done today.”

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, in an appearance on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” said, “From all I know, we are on track. It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when.”

“If Iran wants this to hold, they need to pull back Hezbollah, no doubt,” Hegseth said.

This story is developing. Please check back for updates.