Israeli military on Sunday night said Iran launched missile attacks against it, in a first since the fragile ceasefire between the two countries since April 8.
Sirens blasted across northern Israel, while the IDF said it had intercepted a second barrage of missiles fired from Iran.
The move comes after Israel struck Beirut earlier in the day, despite a truce, prompting Iran's retaliation.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said the Israeli military must stop its attacks on Lebanon and warned that if Israel escalates its offensives in Lebanon or responds to Iran’s actions, it will face “more crushing and regretful blows”, according to Reuters.
Retaliation
Mohsen Rezaei, the military adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, commented on the missile launches towards Israel, AlJazeera reported.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran has repeatedly stated that it will not tolerate violations of the ceasefire and aggression against Lebanon. Tonight, the aggressors received their response,” he wrote on X.
“This response is a warning to stop their evil; any new action will be met with a more crushing response and heavier costs.”
Barak Ravid, a correspondent for Axios, said in a post on X that an Israeli official told him Israel plans to retaliate to the Iranian attack.
Trump urges calm
Multiple media outlets, including Axios and Israel’s Channel 12, report that US President Donald Trump told them he is calling Netanyahu to tell him not to respond to Iran’s strikes.
Axios reporter Barak Ravid said on X that Trump also told him that he was “very close” to striking a deal with Iran to permanently end the war, adding that he did not want the diplomatic process to “blow up” because of Iran’s attack on Israel.
“The Iranian strikes didn’t hurt anybody. Hopefully Israel is not going to retaliate. If Bibi strikes them back it’s just gonna keep going like the last 47 years, or the last 3000 years,” Trump said, as reported by Axios.
In staments to Fox News, Trump also called on Iran to return to talks, warning that its strikes on Israel could harm negotiations.
“It’s certainly not going to help negotiations.”
“What I would suggest to Iran: You’ve shot your missiles, that’s enough, get back to the table and make a deal.”
Trump added that he was not happy about Israel’s attacks on Beirut earlier on Sunday.
