Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday Israel would “hold fire” after President Trump called on the prime minister and Iran’s leadership to return to a cease-fire.

Netanyahu said the fighting “on the Iran front” had been contained — making clear that Hezbollah targets in Lebanon remain separate, which Iran has tried to link to the ongoing US-Israel-Iran cease-fire.

“If they [Iran] make a mistake and resume attacks we will respond powerfully,” Netanyahu said. “Israel has the right to defend itself and we implement it when needed.”

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Earlier Monday, Trump told both Israel and Iran to stop “shooting” at each other in a post to Truth Social, adding in a separate post that a deal with Tehran is around the corner.

“Final negotiations on ‘Peace’ are proceeding, subject to ignorance or stupidity getting in its way,” he said. “The Blockade will remain in place, and in full force and effect, until a ‘Final Deal’ is reached. Things should move quickly.”

The Iranian joint military command was the first to announce it would lay down its weapons, but warned if Israel or its allies carried out any further “aggression and hostile acts” — including against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon — “much more severe and crushing measures than before will follow.”

But that Iranian-claimed extension of the cease-fire to Lebanon may cut short the current peace. Israel did not agree to stop fire on its neighbor to the north as Hezbollah has continued lobbing rockets at the Jewish state — and are already preparing for more attacks along that front.

Shortly after Netanyahu’s remarks, Israel issued warnings to civilians in southern Lebanon that it intended to strike the area of Zuqouq al-Mahdi.

Still, Tehran lifted its flight restrictions over Iran shortly after Netanyahu’s declaration, indicating they do not expect Israel to strike.

Despite the brief escalation, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Monday said discussions with the US are continuing as they continue attempting to reach an agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and begin nuclear negotiations.

“Diplomacy and defense are the two wings of national power; we have neither abandoned the field nor the negotiating table,” he posted to X. “Our priority is national security and the peace of our people. We will defend the rights of the nation with authority and will not retreat in the face of any threat.”

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday said the cease-fire was necessary because “the final objective is just about to be achieved,” echoing Trump’s reasoning for initially calling on Israel not to respond to Iran’s Sunday missile launches.

“The recent surge in violence in the Middle East is a stark reminder of the dangers associated with a tenuous ceasefire and the unbearable consequences it may lead to,” Sharif posted to X. “As we work earnestly and painstakingly, together with our brothers and partners, to find a peaceful diplomatic solution to the conflict, and especially when the final objective is just about to be achieved, we sincerely urge all sides to exercise restraint and give peace a little more chance.”

“Let us continue to remain on the path of peace and diplomacy which have bright prospects of success instead of violence and destruction!”

The decision to stop firing comes after Israel defied Trump’s reported request on Sunday that Netanyahu not retaliate on Iran for a barrage of missiles Tehran launched at Israel in response to an IDF attack on Beirut.

Late that evening, Israel began striking Iran — with explosions heard in the Iranian cities of Isfahan, Karaj, Tabriz, and Tehran, while state media reported that a petrochemical factory in the city of Mahshahr had also been hit.

Israeli forces also hit a military center in Tabriz, but local officials said there were no casualties, according to Iran’s state-owned IRNA.

Iran responded with additional strikes targeting Israeli military infrastructure, but no casualties or damage were reported.

Netanyahu’s effort to keep up the fight comes ahead of Israeli elections in September, where the prime minister painted himself as the national security candidate.

“A Prime Minister of Israel must have one ability: to be able to say ‘No!’ to the president of the United States,” the prime minister said after Israel launched its Sunday strikes.

Israel’s The Jerusalem Post on Monday called the remarks Netanyahu’s “Levi Eshkol moment,” referring to the former Israeli prime minister who pushed back against former President Lyndon B. Johnson’s 1967 warning that Israel would go it alone if it chose to strike regional threats, launching Israel’s successful six-day war against Egypt, Syria, and Jordan.