Washington: US President Donald Trump on Sunday urged Iran to return to negotiations after missile strikes on Israel while calling on Tel Aviv not to retaliate, saying more time was needed for diplomacy, according to media reports.

According to Anadolu Agency, Trump told Fox News, “You’ve shot your missiles, that’s enough. Get back to the table and make a deal,” referring to Iran. The president mentioned that he expected an agreement with Tehran could be signed “Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday of this coming week.”

Iran’s missile attack was in response to repeated Israeli strikes on Lebanon despite multiple US-brokered ceasefires, including a strike on a Hezbollah position in Beirut on Sunday. Tehran has stated that a permanent Israeli ceasefire in Lebanon must be in place before any deal with Washington can be reached.

A senior US official, as reported by the Axios news site, revealed that the Trump administration did not authorize Israel’s Beirut strike. The official added that Trump urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a phone call to refrain from further action because “we are close to doing something good in terms of a deal.”

Netanyahu initially resisted but ultimately “pseudo agreed” to stand down. The official noted that Sunday’s call was notably calmer than the two leaders’ tense exchange last week, with Trump not raising his voice.

“We think the president bought a little bit of time. He is pretty adamant that we are close to a deal with Iran. I don’t think anything is imminent in terms of an Israeli strike,” the official said, stressing the stakes at the moment.

The official emphasized, “We are in a moment in time – why jeopardize a potential deal when you are in the fourth quarter. The president thinks that we have been in this thing for three months – now is the time to end this thing.”

The Iranian attack targeted Haifa and Nazareth, marking the first on Israeli territory since the April 8 ceasefire. This came after an Israeli strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs earlier Sunday.

Addressing the Israeli strikes in Lebanon, Trump emphasized that the military actions were “not coordinated with the United States.” He expressed discontent about the strikes targeting Hezbollah in Beirut.

Trump also mentioned that the Iranian strikes “didn’t hurt anybody” and expressed hope that Israel does not retaliate, as retaliations would “just gonna keep going like the last 47 years or the last 3,000 years.”

In a brief conversation with the New York Post, Trump stated that “things are going very well.” He previously expressed that he was “perturbed” by Netanyahu’s stance of “constantly fighting” with Lebanon.