"A ceasefire there is much different than a ceasefire in other parts of the world," the president said of the region
NEED TO KNOW
- President Donald Trump suggested on Wednesday, June 3, that different parts of the world have varied understandings of the term “ceasefire”
- In Iran, he said, a ceasefire “is when you’re shooting in a more moderate manner”
- Trump’s remarks come as recent military exchanges between the U.S. and Iran test a fragile ceasefire between the two nations
President Donald Trump suggested that different parts of the world have varied understandings of the term “ceasefire.”
Asked by a reporter at the White House on Wednesday, June 3, how he would define a “ceasefire,” Trump said, “pretty much the way it is.”
“That's a different part of the world,” he added, referring to Iran, with whom the U.S. has been at war since late February. “I'd say, in that part of the world, ‘ceasefire' is when you're shooting in a more moderate manner.”
“It's not bad,” Trump said, turning with a smile to a group of senior administration officials gathered behind him and drawing some laughter from the room. “But it's true. I mean, a ceasefire there is much different than a ceasefire in other parts of the world.”
Trump spoke to reporters from the Oval Office, where he had moments earlier signed an executive order turning an estimated 8,000 federal workers into at-will employees. A second order signed by the president on Wednesday pertained to customs enforcement.
Trump's remarks on Wednesday came less than 24 hours after Iran attacked an airport in Kuwait, testing a shaky ceasefire agreement with the U.S. and stalled peace talks.
Israel and Lebanon agreed to a ceasefire later Wednesday, according to a joint statement from the U.S., Israel and Lebanon.
Recent military exchanges between the two nations have complicated efforts to end the war, as has Israel's escalating campaign in Lebanon. In a taped interview with New York Post columnist Miranda Devine on Wednesday, Trump confirmed reports that he had called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “f—ing crazy” in a phone call on Monday, June 1.
Credit: Shawn Thew/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty
“I was a little bit perturbed at his constantly fighting with Lebanon,” the president said on Pod Force One, although he insisted the two world leaders continue to work “very well together.”
Trump largely skirted questions about the ceasefire on Wednesday, and said Iran's attack on Kuwait had been in retaliation for recent U.S. military actions.
“We hit them pretty hard the night before,” he told reporters. “We've been hitting them pretty hard. So, there is a reason for certain things.”
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The president added that the U.S. and Iran are “pretty close” to reaching an agreement to end the war, and peace negotiations could wrap up by the end of the weekend.
“I hear the negotiation itself has gone very well, actually,” he said. “It could happen. I mean, if it happens. And it might not happen, you know, who knows?”
In a striking rebuke of Trump, the House, including four Republicans, voted later Wednesday to pass a largely symbolic measure to end the war with Iran.
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