LIVE FIRE CEASEFIRE: Iran attempted to use its leverage with President Donald Trump — who is anxious to seal a nuclear deal with Tehran — to protect its proxy forces in Lebanon from Israeli retaliation, after Iran struck Israel with a wave of missile attacks over the weekend.

Trump told Axios he would call Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and urge him not to retaliate to give diplomacy more time. During the call, Trump asked Netanyahu to hold his fire because “we are close to doing something good in terms of a deal,” Axios reported, citing a U.S. official.

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