The diplomat said Iran has requested assurances that the fighting in Lebanon will cease as outlined in the signed agreement, and that mediators are working to resolve the issue.

The planned talks have been “temporarily postponed following the Israeli strikes in Lebanon,” with no date set for their resumption.

If we don't quickly replace this government, Israel's foreign relations will be wiped out.

For every tear of an Israeli mother, a thousand Lebanese mothers must weep. All of Lebanon must burn!

With all due respect to the Americans, Israel must make it clear to the entire world that the blood of our sons and the security of our citizens are not forfeit. All of Lebanon must burn. Our supreme duty is to protect the citizens of Israel and the soldiers who of the IDF, and this commitment takes precedence over every other consideration.

I told the Prime Minister, even in our private meetings: For every tear of an Israeli mother, a thousand Lebanese mothers must weep.

Enough with the ping-pong. In the Middle East, you don't win with measured responses and restraint-you need to go berserk. To obliterate. To crush the terror.

The authors write that Trump told an associate: “Everyone needs to say fucking ‘obliterated.’ … That’s the word. Everyone just needs to copy what I say. Obliterated. Obliterated.”

Vance had told ABC News that Iran’s nuclear program had been “set back substantially,” adding he was unsure of the difference between “severely damaged” and “obliterated.”

The following day, he adopted Trump’s preferred wording, repeatedly using the term “obliterated.”

Time to speak with fire. To open the gates of hell.