Iran fired at least three waves of missiles toward Israel on Sunday, after a deadly Israeli airstrike on Beirut hours earlier that targeted the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah, Israel’s military said. The attack marks the first time Iran has targeted Israel since its ceasefire with the U.S. went into force in early April, Israel’s military said, and threatens to escalate a conflict that has been largely contained since then despite a series of lower-intensity skirmishes. There were no reported injuries as a result of the Iranian strikes, which were intercepted by Israel.
The U.S. Central Command, which oversees American forces in the Middle East, posted a video on Sunday featuring U.S. jet fighters with the message: “U.S. forces across the Middle East remain vigilant and ready.”
The Iranian attack came after Tehran threatened to strike Israel and American bases in the region in response to the attack on the Lebanese capital — the first time Israel had targeted Beirut since a ceasefire on that front was announced by the U.S. last week. Israel agreed not to hit Beirut as long as Hezbollah did not attack Israel proper, and agreed with Lebanon on a broader truce as long as the militant group stops fighting, according to the terms reported by The Wall Street Journal.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the strike on what he said was a Hezbollah headquarters in the southern suburbs of Beirut, a stronghold of the Iranian-backed militant group. Earlier, Israel’s military said Hezbollah had fired rockets into northern Israel, which it intercepted.
Senior officials in Tehran, who have sought a halt to Israeli operations inside Lebanon as part of their peace negotiations with Washington, had vowed to hit back with a “decisive and painful response,” according to The Wall Street Journal, which cited unnamed Iranian officials.
On Sunday, Iran’s top negotiator, Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, said the U.S. blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and what he described as the U.S. green light for the Israeli strike in Lebanon “turn American and regime bases and assets in the region into legitimate targets.”
The Israeli prime minister’s office and the White House did not respond to requests for comment on whether Israel’s latest strike on Beirut had Washington’s approval, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Following the Iranian attack, Israel announced the suspension of schools across the country, a sign it anticipated that hostilities could continue. The Israel Airports Authority, however, said activity at the country’s main international airport continued as usual.
Israel’s military said its airstrikes in Beirut hit a command center in the Lebanese capital where the group was operating and which had been used to plan strikes against Israel. Lebanon’s health ministry said the strike killed two people and injured 20 more, including four women and four children.