"Moderate" exchanges of fire are within normal parameters in the region, according to the US president

A ceasefire in the Middle East does not always mean that shooting stops entirely, US President Donald Trump has said, after reporters pressed him on the latest military exchanges involving Iran.

US forces this week reportedly targeted a tanker destined for Iran's Kharg Island, triggering an Iranian missile and drone barrage targeting US bases in Kuwait. One projectile devastated the Gulf state's international airport terminal. Additionally, over the weekend, the US carried out what it described as "self-defense" airstrikes on Iran's Qeshm Island.

Speaking at a White House press conference on Wednesday, Trump downplayed the latest Iranian attacks, arguing that Tehran was simply responding to previous US military action. He maintained that the armistice between the US and Iran remains in force.

"It's a different part of the world," Trump said. "I'd say in that part of the world, ceasefire is when you're shooting in a more moderate manner."

Before an initial truce was announced on April 7, more than 3,400 people had been reported killed in Iran by American and Israeli strikes. The US said 13 military service members died, with more than 300 others injured in the line of duty. Military personnel and civilians were also killed in Arab states hosting US bases, which Tehran targeted during the conflict.

On April 21, Trump extended the conditional ceasefire framework indefinitely, agreeing a 60-day extension with Iran on May 8, and announcing a truce in Lebanon on June 3.

Lebanon and "ceasefire"

Lebanon's Health Ministry has said that Israeli attacks on the country have killed at least 3,516 civilians since March 2, and over 1,100 since April 7. Israel has also injured over 10,000 others while ordering the expulsion of the Muslim population from southern Lebanon.

Hostilities were meant to be halted under a separate ceasefire, which the US, Israel, and the government in Beirut reaffirmed this week, demanding that Hezbollah stop attacks on Israeli-occupied southern Lebanon and withdraw its forces.

Hezbollah, however, the active combatant against Israel, was neither party to the talks nor answers to Lebanon's national government and cites multiple previous truce violations by Israel.

"It is clear that Israel will not stop, that this is a one-sided ceasefire," Beirut-based reporter Mohammed Shamsedeen told RT. "If it was a two-sided ceasefire this war would be over right now."

While the reality across the Middle East is stretching the definition of "truce" and "ceasefire" - where hundreds are being killed and warring parties are not even at the table - Trump's quip, like all gallows humor, carries in it a grain of truth.