U.S. President Donald Trump urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to retaliate after Iran fired missiles at Israeli targets, warning that a near-final deal with Tehran could be derailed by the latest escalation.
Trump told Axios that the United States was “very close to a final deal with Iran” and that he did not want it to “blow up because of what is happening now”. He said the Iranian strikes “didn’t hurt anybody” and added that he hoped Israel would not retaliate.
“If Netanyahu strikes them back it’s just gonna keep going like last 47 years, or last 3000 years,” Trump told Axios.
An RAF KC2 Voyager tanker was reported airborne from Akrotiri, the British base in Cyprus, as Iran fired missiles at Israel and Iraq closed its airspace. The flight-tracking account GeoInsider reported on X that the tanker, identified as ZZ338, had taken off from Akrotiri and was holding over the eastern Mediterranean.
GeoInsider said the aircraft was airborne as Iran fired ballistic missiles at Israel and Iraq shut its airspace. It described the movement as consistent with the use of refuelling capacity to keep fighter aircraft on station over the region, though there was no immediate official confirmation of the aircraft’s role.
Iraq temporarily closed its airspace and suspended air navigation for air traffic safety reasons following the launch of Iranian rockets, civil aviation officials told Reuters on Sunday. The Iraqi Civil Aviation Authority said Iraqi airspace would remain closed for 72 hours.
Israel struck the outskirts of Beirut on Sunday for the first time since the United States announced a truce plan for Lebanon last week, and Iran later fired missiles at Israeli targets, putting talks to end the wider war under renewed strain.
Iran has said any peace deal with the United States would depend on a ceasefire also holding in Lebanon, which Israel invaded in March while pursuing Iran-backed Hezbollah fighters who had fired across the border in solidarity with Tehran.
Israeli military officials said late on Sunday that missiles had been launched from Iran and that Israeli defence systems had intercepted them. Details on possible damage in Israel were not immediately available.
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