By ABC Middle East correspondent Matthew Doran in Tel Aviv
Analysis - The world is rarely left wondering what Donald Trump thinks.
It might be confounded by the tone, but most of the time his unique turn of phrase expresses a blunt assessment of what's happening in the world and who he likes or doesn't like at any one time.
And so, in his first comments since the alleged ceasefire between Israel and Iran was announced, the US president let rip.
"You know what, we basically have two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don't know what the f*** they're doing," he told reporters at the White House.
"Do you understand that?"
Yes, Mr President. But more importantly, so did Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Trump had, of course, said that he was "not happy" with both Israel and Iran in his commentary.
"Israel, as soon as we made the deal, they came out and they dropped the load of bombs the likes of which I've never seen before - the biggest load that we've seen," he said.
"When I say, 'OK, now you have 12 hours,' you don't go out in the first hour and just drop everything you have on them.
"So I'm not happy with them. I'm not happy with Iran either. But I'm really unhappy if Israel's going out this morning, because the one rocket that didn't land, that was shot, perhaps by mistake, that didn't land."
That sort of commentary isn't going to anger the Iranian regime. It already sees the United States as one of its most staunch enemies.
The president's most stinging criticism was aimed at his country's closest Middle East ally, and it shows how the Trump-Netanyahu relationship is fraying.
And the prime minister was clearly listening.
His military's fast and furious response to claims Iranian missiles had been detected and intercepted in northern Israel, hours after the ceasefire came into force, was to deploy fighter jets to the skies of Tehran for what Israel's defence minister described as "intense strikes".
Shortly after Trump's spicy intervention, Netanyahu revealed what the mission had achieved.
"In response to Iran's violations, the Air Force destroyed a radar installation near Tehran," his office said in a statement.
"Pursuant to the conversation between President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu, Israel has refrained from additional attacks.
"In the conversation, President Trump expressed his great appreciation for Israel, which achieved all of its objectives for the war, as well as his confidence in the stability of the ceasefire."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has had a complicated relationship with Donald Trump. Photo: AFP
Due deference and fawning returned.
However, Donald Trump had a different way of describing what had just happened.
"ISRAEL is not going to attack Iran," he posted on his Truth Social platform.
"All planes will turn around and head home, while doing a friendly 'Plane Wave' to Iran. Nobody will be hurt, the Ceasefire is in effect!
"Thank you for your attention to this matter!"
Belligerence and no breakthroughs
There's been another f-word, uttered repeatedly in Washington and spread through the media to describe the White House's views towards Israel.
Frustration.
For months, Netanyahu has been demanding Trump let him launch strikes on Iran's nuclear program.
The US, instead, wanted to pursue negotiations with Tehran, aimed at curbing its nuclear ambitions.
The belligerence on show from Israel was also fuelling irritation with regards to the war in Gaza, and Israel's negotiating tactics with Hamas.
While the Trump administration had loosened the leash on the Netanyahu government in how it conducted the war, that freedom was offered in demand for results - which had not started to appear.
The White House dispatched some of the president's closest aides, including special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff.
But there had been no breakthroughs.
Then, in May, Trump toured Arab nations across the Gulf. Saudi Arabia was the first stop - a country trying to be the major player, and one the Trump administration wants to see normalise ties with Israel as a step toward stabilising the entire region.
He also visited the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, the latter instrumental in trying to broker a deal to end the war in Gaza.
While in Qatar, he visited the US Air Force base which Iran tried to attack hours before the most recent ceasefire was announced.
A stopover in Israel was not on the itinerary.
When Trump returned to the White House in January, the first foreign leader to visit him was Netanyahu.
Trump had regularly boasted of being the "greatest president" for the United States, and had claimed without any real explanation that Hamas's 7 October attacks on Israel would never have happened under his watch.
Such was the tone and tenor of their ties that Netanyahu presented Trump with a golden pager, invoking memories of Israel's attacks on Hezbollah members using the communication devices that killed and maimed scores of people.
Last week, The New York Times reported Trump was disturbed by the gift.
Everyone will spin this as a win
Israel insists its decision to launch strikes against Iran was a "blue and white" operation - Israeli-led and executed.
US intelligence and weaponry, of course, played a part.
But the strikes highlighted the limitations of Israel's arsenal. Attacking nuclear sites would only be so effective, without the US's help.
And so, just over a week into the campaign, the US deployed B2 bombers to drop the largest bombs it had on the underground facilities.
Netanyahu, who had been beating the drum for destroying Iran's nuclear capabilities for more than 30 years, had opened the door to achieving that.
But he needed Trump to wedge his foot in the opening, to ensure the opportunity wasn't lost.
That's another reason why the president's response on the lawns of the White House is telling.
His frustrated f-bomb will fuel speculation the US was dragged into this and wanted an elegant exit - only for Israel to jeopardise that.
Israel, Iran and the United States are all going to spin the result as a win.
For Israel, it has flexed its military might and hit sites across Iran that have been on its wish list for years.
For Iran, it has managed to unsettle Israel's population through unpredictable and deadly missile barrages in the heart of its communities, and has escaped with what it claims to be the working remnants of a nuclear program.
Remember, no-one knows where about 400 kilograms of Iranian-enriched uranium is.
And the United States and Donald Trump will present themselves as the peacemakers - knocking heads together to stop an all-out war.
It just required a public verbal barrage to make that point crystal clear and to make sure the impact was felt in the places where it mattered.
- ABC
