The Israeli military on Sunday said it intercepted all missiles launched from Iran, in a fresh escalation that has heightened tensions in the region and put the fragile ceasefire at risk.
The attack came shortly after Iran threatened to retaliate against Israel over fresh strikes on Beirut. Meanwhile, air raid sirens sounded across Israel as tensions flared in the region.
Iran said the missiles were fired in response to ceasefire violations in Beirut and warned that the Israeli military must stop its attacks on Lebanon.
The development comes amid fresh skirmishes between Israel and Hezbollah near the Lebanese capital, even as the US and Iran appear to be making little progress towards a peace deal aimed at ending the war in West Asia.
Here are all the latest updates in fresh escalation between Iran and Israel:
What Israel said: The Israeli military reported at least three waves of incoming missiles, saying its air defences were “currently identifying and intercepting threats”. The Israeli military later said that all Iranian missile were intercepted.
Iran says ‘Israel crossed red lines’: Iran’s military central command said that Israel’s latest strike on Beirut suburbs had “crossed all red lines” and demanded a halt to its campaign in Lebanon. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s parliament speaker and its chief negotiator in talks with the US, accused Washington of having given a “green light” for the Beirut attack, saying US and Israeli assets were now “legitimate targets”.
Latest attacks only ‘warning’: Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said that the latest missile attacks on Israel was a “warning” of a broader response that would encompass all US and Israeli targets if “aggressions” are repeated. It added that it accepted a ceasefire with the US on condition that it was “a ceasefire on all fronts”.
Trump reacts: US President Donald Trump has urged Iran to return to talks and warned that the strikes could harm negotiations. Reacting to the Iranian missile attack, Trump said, “What I would suggest to Iran: You’ve shot your missiles, that’s enough.” He was referring to Iran during an interview with Fox News. He further said that he was “close to a deal” with Iran.
‘Close to final deal’: In a separate interview to Axios, Trump said he was very close to a final deal with Iran, adding that he “don’t want to blow it up because of what is happening now”. Trump said the strikes didn’t hurt anybody and that Israel was not going to retaliate. “If Netanyahu strikes them back, it’s just gonna keep going like the last 47 years, or the last 3,000 years,” he added.
Fears of retaliation: Israel has reportedly said that it will retaliate against Iranian attacks. Meanwhile, Iran also said it will respond to any Israeli attack “with greater force”. Iran has also closed the western part of the country’s airspace, Al Jazeera cited Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency as saying.
