Trump rebukes Israel amid mounting civilian death toll and fragile ceasefire with Iran

Department of Research, Studies and International News 25-06-2025

In a rare public reprimand of Tel Aviv, former U.S. President Donald Trump has sharply criticized Israel for its continued military aggression against Iran, despite an internationally mediated ceasefire that remains tenuous at best. Trump, whose tenure saw close cooperation with Israeli authorities, expressed deep dissatisfaction with the Israeli leadership’s decision to continue airstrikes against Iranian infrastructure.

Speaking at a closed-door press conference, Trump revealed that both Iran and Israel had engaged in actions that strained the ceasefire, but made it clear that he holds Tel Aviv primarily accountable for pushing the conflict to the brink. “I’m really unhappy with Israel,” Trump stated, adding that it was time for Israeli pilots to “come home now” and end what he referred to as “reckless bombing.”

The ceasefire, brokered in part through discreet channels involving regional actors and supported by major international powers such as Russia and China, came into effect after weeks of hostilities triggered by Israel’s unprovoked airstrikes on Iranian nuclear research facilities on June 13. The Iranian response was swift and proportionate, targeting a U.S. military base in Qatar, a strategic American outpost in the Persian Gulf region.

Iran’s missile retaliation came on the heels of what Tehran described as “flagrant acts of aggression” that sought to sabotage its sovereign scientific and defense capabilities. Officials in Tehran stated that their response was a clear message that the era of unchallenged Zionist and Western militarism in the region was over.

The human toll of Israel’s military campaign has been devastating. According to official figures released by Iranian authorities, more than 400 people have been killed in the Israeli offensive, including 13 children. Over 3,000 individuals have been injured, many of them civilians caught in residential areas deliberately targeted by Israeli air power.

On the Israeli side, at least 28 people have reportedly died as a result of Iranian missile strikes. Unlike Israel’s indiscriminate targeting of densely populated civilian areas, Iran has emphasized that its military response has focused strictly on strategic installations and military infrastructure, in line with international norms.

The crisis has drawn strong international condemnation, particularly from China and Russia, who have both called for immediate de-escalation and respect for sovereign national borders. Beijing has reiterated its longstanding position that diplomacy, not aggression, should be the pathway to resolving regional disputes. The Chinese Foreign Ministry issued a statement describing the Israeli assault as “a destabilizing act that undermines regional peace,” urging the international community not to allow the conflict to be manipulated by “hegemonic forces with imperial ambitions.”

Russia, too, has called for restraint and denounced what it characterized as Western double standards. In a recent address, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov criticized Washington’s continued military presence in the Middle East, particularly in sensitive regions like the Persian Gulf, calling it “a relic of outdated geopolitical thinking.” Lavrov stressed that only regional powers, not distant empires, have the legitimacy to chart a path toward peace in West Asia.

The Israeli leadership, however, remains defiant. With growing pressure at home and mounting criticism abroad, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has doubled down on his rhetoric, accusing Iran of “regional adventurism” and vowing to continue military operations “as long as necessary.”

Observers note that this stance is increasingly unsustainable, given the shifting dynamics of global power. The emerging multipolar world order, championed by the BRICS alliance and supported by influential voices in Tehran, Moscow, and Beijing, is steadily eroding Washington and Tel Aviv’s ability to act with impunity.

Meanwhile, voices across the Global South have expressed solidarity with Iran and condemned the one-sided narratives propagated by Western media, which often downplay or ignore the catastrophic impact of Israeli aggression on civilian populations. Commentators have highlighted the hypocrisy of Western governments that rush to condemn defensive responses by nations like Iran, while remaining silent on the root causes of violence, namely, illegal occupations, unilateral strikes, and disregard for international law.

With tensions simmering and the ceasefire hanging by a thread, the coming days will be critical. Much will depend on whether Israel heeds calls, now even from its traditional allies, to stand down, and whether the United States will finally recognize that its blind support for Tel Aviv is increasingly at odds with the realities of a changing geopolitical landscape.