Iran launches missiles at Israel for first time since Mideast truce

Air raid sirens sounded in Israel on Sunday as its military said it intercepted incoming Iranian missiles, the first such barrage since an April ceasefire took hold in the Middle East war.

Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guards called the attack a “warning” after Israel struck Beirut’s southern suburbs earlier in the day, threatening wider strikes in the event of repeated aggression.

An 8 April ceasefire had halted major hostilities between Iran and its foes Israel and the United States.

But efforts to turn the truce into a settlement have repeatedly stalled, and Sunday’s launches were sure to further dampen hopes for a lasting peace, as the Middle East war reached its 100th day.

Iran’s attack flurry reportedly prompted US President Donald Trump to call Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to advise against retaliation, even as Israeli military leaders vowed to strike the Islamic republic as soon as they are given the go-ahead.

“I am going to call Bibi right now and tell him not to retaliate,” Trump was quoted as saying by Axios journalist Barak Ravid in a phone interview, using the Israeli leader’s nickname.

“Israel had its strike and Iran had its strike. We don’t need another one,” Trump reportedly said.

Ravid later posted that a US official said Trump spoke with Netanyahu. The White House has yet to issue a readout of the call, and Trump has remained silent on social media Sunday.

Meanwhile Israel accused Tehran of committing a “grave mistake” with its assault, which Israel’s miliary said amounted to 11 missiles, all of which were intercepted, with no casualties.

And Israeli military chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir vowed the military would “strike the enemy with force as soon as the green light is given”.

Tehran has insisted any deal to permanently end the war must also halt the parallel conflict in Lebanon, where Israel is pursuing a campaign against the Iran-backed movement Hezbollah, and had warned that any new attacks on Beirut would trigger a “full-scale resumption” of hostilities.

On Sunday, Netanyahu’s office announced the army had “struck a militant command centre in Beirut’s Dahiyeh district, in response to Hezbollah’s fire towards Israeli territory”.

The raid killed two people and wounded 20 more, Lebanon’s health ministry said.

Israel had warned it would hit the area should Hezbollah attack northern Israel, and the group later confirmed having launched missiles and drones at a pair of Israeli army barracks early Sunday.

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s parliament speaker and its chief negotiator in talks with Washington, accused the US of having given a “green light” for the Beirut attack, saying US and Israeli assets were now “legitimate targets”.

The head of Iran’s military central command said Israel had “crossed all red lines” with the Beirut strike, demanding it halt its campaign in Lebanon.

“Tonight’s operation (against Israel) was a warning,” the Revolutionary Guards said. “If such aggressions are repeated, the responses will be broader and will cover all US-Zionist targets in the region.”

Shortly after the attack, Iran announced it was closing its airspace over the country’s west, while neighbouring Iraq and nearby Syria followed suit.

Tehran also suspended all incoming flights to its international airport, local media reported Sunday.

The sharp escalation came as Iranians were already feeling the strain of weeks of uncertainty.

“I really have gone numb,” fitness trainer Elaheh from Ahvaz told AFP.

“Daily life? It’s a joke. Everything is horrible. We only try to survive,” the 32-year-old added, pointing to rising prices.

Chef Farhad, 35, also said life was becoming “increasingly difficult”.

“Things that just a few months ago you might have considered buying have now become dreams and fairy tales,” he told AFP.

There were some weekend signs of ongoing diplomatic efforts, with Pakistan Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi visiting Tehran.

Naqvi said upon his arrival Saturday that he would deliver a “special letter” from Pakistan’s army chief to Iran’s supreme leader, as well as a message from the prime minister, according to Iranian state television.

Pakistani military leader Syed Asim Munir has played a key role in mediating between Iran and the US following an initial round of direct negotiations in Islamabad.

Mohsen Rezaei, military adviser to Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, had told CNN negotiations with the US “are at a deadlock, and Trump must break this deadlock”, calling for the release of some $24 billion in frozen Iranian assets.

But Trump said he would not unfreeze Iranian assets before reaching an initial agreement with Tehran, telling NBC on Sunday: “If they behave, if they do a good job, we start talking”.

Meanwhile, US Central Command said overnight that it destroyed two Iranian drones “that threatened international maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz”.

A previous drone interception and strikes on Iranian radar sites had prompted Tehran to fire a salvo of missiles Saturday at US allies Bahrain and Kuwait.