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Iran carried out a missile attack against Israel late on June 7, the first since a ceasefire with the United States entered into effect more than a month ago.
The missile attack came hours after Israeli strikes on the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital Beirut — a stronghold of the Iran-aligned Hezbollah. Two were killed and around 20 were wounded in the strikes. The Islamic Republic previously warned that it would respond to any such escalation.
Ballistic missiles — at least ten — were launched from Iran in at least two waves, with sirens sounding across northern Israel, according to Hebrew media.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) claimed that its air defenses intercepted all of the Iranian ballistic missiles launched from the Islamic Republic.
Following the attack, Iran’s military central command said that the IDF must stop its strikes on Lebanon, and if it expands its attacks or responds to Iran’s actions, it will face “more crushing and regretful blows,” following its initial ballistic missile attacks on northern Israel.
“We had previously warned that if the crimes in the Dahiyeh area of Beirut expand, we will attack targets in the occupied territories,” said General Ali Abollahi, the head of the Khatam al-Anbiya command, in a statement.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, from its side, warned in a statement the missile attack on Israel was just a “warning” of a broader response that would encompass all United States and Israeli targets in the Middle East if “aggressions” are repeated.
Meanwhile, Israeli officials told Channel 12 that the IDF will “respond forcefully” to Iran’s missile attack. Israel “cannot allow” an equation whereby Iran fires on Israel after Israel tackles Hezbollah targets in the Lebanese capital, according to the report.
The Iranian missile attack represents the most serious escalation since the ceasefire with the U.S. entered into effect on April 8 — around 40 days after the start of the American-Israeli war on the Islamic Republic.
In an attempt to contain the situation, U.S. President Donald Trump urged Iran to stop firing missiles and return to 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 told Fox News, according to the network’s correspondent Trey Yingst.
Trump also told the news network that Israeli strikes on Beirut were not coordinated with him and that he was “not happy” about them.
Trump’s remarks show that the U.S. is not ready to resume the war on Iran. Regardless, Israel will respond, which will likely provoke further action by Iran. This may very well be the point in which the fully-flagged war finally resumed, after weeks of escalation.
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