TOI correspondent from Washington: Delivering a strong public rebuke to Tel Aviv, US President Donald Trump on Sunday urged restraint following the Israeli attack on Beirut that repeatedly threatened to derail what he described as an imminent peace deal with Iran, an agreement that had not materialized at the time of going to press, despite his confident predictions that it would be signed on Sunday. “This morning’s attack on Beirut should not have happened,” Trump declared on Truth Social. “We are very close to an agreement that will bring peace to the region, including Lebanon… This could be the beginning of a long and beautiful peace… Let’s not ruin it!” The US president said that while Israel has the right to defend itself against threats, the attack it was responding to was “very small and meaningless, no one was hurt, injured or killed, and should not disrupt this important process.”“The unusually direct message reflects the White House’s growing frustration with Israel’s apparent determination to maintain military pressure on Hezbollah and Iran’s regional allies, while Washington races to achieve a broader understanding with Tehran. Regional analysts believe the Israeli attack on Beirut’s southern suburbs was not simply an operational response to a “meaningless” Hezbollah attack, but a carefully timed diplomatic middle finger. Tel Aviv is reportedly convinced that Trump – always eager for a dramatic diplomatic flourish – is making more concessions to Iran than is wise. Purported inducements include sanctions relief, release of frozen Iranian assets and a phased reopening of maritime access through the Strait of Hormuz that would revive Iran’s economy. The result has been a geopolitical spectacle worthy of reality television: America’s closest Middle East ally appearing to sabotage the signature foreign-policy initiative of a president who prides himself on being the world’s supreme dealmaker — all in the middle of a cage fight on the White House lawn to celebrate his 80th birthday. The peace agreement itself remains very close and out of reach. Trump had confidently predicted that the deal would be signed on Sunday, but Tehran apparently did not get that memo. Iranian officials have resisted the White House’s timetable and mocked Trump’s, while insisting that although talks are moving forward, a number of technical and political issues still need to be reviewed. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghai cautioned against “premature announcements” and stressed that no final signing date had been agreed upon. Iranian negotiators also cited the Beirut attack as evidence that guarantees of regional stability remain uncertain. Tehran’s message was simple: Diplomatic agreements and timetables are not designed like Trump’s on-the-fly campaign rally schedule. Meanwhile, Vice President JD Vance is prepared to fly to Geneva on short notice if talks suddenly turn into an agreement. This would not be the first time he has been sent as Trump’s emissary, amid concerns among his supporters that him being thrown into a blender will not bode well for his political future. Earlier this year, Trump sent Vance to Pakistan for talks with Iranian negotiators, and he remained cautious about a follow-up trip as talks were slow and fluid. In some MAGA circles, the vice president has acquired a reputation as the equivalent of the administration’s substitute goalkeeper — constantly practicing on the sidelines while waiting for the president’s latest fix.The broader atmosphere surrounding the talks has done little to reassure America’s allies. Analysts have described Trump’s foreign policy as operating somewhere between strategic ambiguity and freestyle jazz, with harsh critics, channeling Shakespeare, saying it is full of sound and fury that makes no sense. Policy announcements emerge via Truth Social posts, deadlines appear and disappear, and military action is threatened in one message and suspended in the next.It all comes as Trump prepares to depart for Europe on Monday for the Group of Seven (G-7) meeting – where he has previously treated aides and partners to the boxing bombshell after watching a cage fight on the White House lawn. The optics have confounded diplomats, many of whom have been extensively trained in nuclear deterrence theory, but they had somehow failed to gauge Middle East peace analysis against the backdrop of the UFC scrap. However, for now, Sunday’s much-publicized signing in Switzerland remains a diplomatic mirage, while the potential for blood in a UFC cage fight remains real.