\u201cThe Iranian terror regime made a grave mistake when it chose terror once again,\u201d IDF spokesman Effie Defrin said. He added \u201cthe IDF will continue to operate all across Lebanon \u2026 we will not allow fire toward Israel\u201d.<\/p>\n
Earlier, US President Donald Trump told Axios that he planned to call Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and urge him not to retaliate. \u201cI am going to call Bibi right now and tell him not to retaliate. Each of them had their fun. Israel had its strike, and Iran had its strike. We don\u2019t need another one,\u201d Trump told the outlet.<\/p>\n
Iran\u2019s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it targeted Ramat David Air Base in northern Israel, which it called the \u201csource\u201d of aggression against southern Lebanon and Beirut\u2019s southern suburbs, according to a statement published by the semi-official Tasnim News.<\/p>\n
Trump told Fox News he is \u201cnot happy\u201d about Israel striking Beirut\u2019s suburbs, and that the Iranian missile fire towards Israel is \u201ccertainly not going to help negotiations\u201d aimed at ending the war. US and Iranian officials had said in recent weeks that they were \u201cclose\u201d to reaching a peace agreement.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I would suggest to Iran: you\u2019ve shot your missiles, that\u2019s enough, get back to the table and make a deal,\u201d Trump told the network.<\/p>\n
Defence Minister Israel Katz said last week that the IDF has refrained from powerful strikes in Lebanon\u2019s capital, \u201cexcept for targeted assassinations\u201d, following a US request. He warned then that Israel would strike Dahiyeh, a southern Beirut suburb where Hezbollah holds sway, if Israel\u2019s northern communities are targeted.<\/p>\n
Israel\u2019s latest strikes killed two and injured 20, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health. Israel launched the attack days after the announcement of a US-brokered ceasefire deal with Lebanon, a deal that was contingent on Hezbollah ending its attacks.<\/p>\n
Hezbollah had called the ceasefire agreement a \u201cfarce\u201d and both sides continued attacks.<\/p>\n
After Israel\u2019s attack today, chief Iranian negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf posted on social media that as a result of the ongoing US naval blockade against Iranian ports and what he alleged was \u201cAmerica\u2019s green light today\u201d for Israel to attack Hezbollah, US and Israeli bases and assets in the region were \u201clegitimate targets\u201d. Iran launched its retaliatory strikes against Israel hours later.<\/p>\n
Chief Iranian negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. Photo \/ ICANA News Agency, Getty Images<\/p>\n
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard said the \u201coperation was a warning, and if aggressions are repeated, the responses will be broader and will include all\u201d US-Israeli targets in the Middle East.<\/p>\n
Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, the command centre of Iran\u2019s armed forces, said in a statement that Iran \u201chad previously warned that if crimes continue in the Dahieh district of Beirut, we would strike targets\u201d within Israel, according to the semi-official Fars News agency.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf [Israel\u2019s military] expands its attacks on that region or responds to Iran\u2019s actions, it will face more crushing and regrettable blows and destructive attacks will begin against the regime and its supporters,\u201d the headquarters said.<\/p>\n
The Israeli military announced that schools will be cancelled across Israel and gatherings will be limited.<\/p>\n
The attack marked the first time Iran launched attacks toward Israel since the April 8 US-brokered ceasefire, which followed 40 days of strikes between Israel and Iran after the US and Israel launched the war on Iran on February 28. Iran\u2019s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and other top Iranian officials were killed in hostilities and a consortium of human rights groups estimated nearly 1443 Iranian civilians were also killed. Some 20 Israelis were reportedly killed by Iranian missiles.<\/p>\n
On Sunday, NBC\u2019s Meet the Press aired a Friday interview with Trump in which he detailed the status of the ceasefire negotiations. \u201cI think we\u2019re very close,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Trump said the US would not lift sanctions on Iran or unfreeze its assets upfront as part of any peace deal with Tehran and would consider doing so only if other conditions are met.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf they behave, if they do a good job, we start talking,\u201d Trump told NBC\u2019s Kristen Welker.<\/p>\n
The question of economic relief for Iran has emerged as a major sticking point as the two sides pursue an agreement to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. In recent weeks, both sides have signalled they are \u201cclose\u201d on a deal, but one has yet to emerge.<\/p>\n
An Iranian official, who spoke with The Washington Post late last month, said an agreed-upon memorandum of understanding that would open the Strait of Hormuz includes a first phase that would unlock US$12 billion ($20.7b) in frozen Iranian assets and lift the US naval blockade of Iran\u2019s ports. CNN and others have reported that Tehran wants an additional US$12b to be unfrozen in a subsequent phase.<\/p>\n
At the time, a diplomat familiar with the talks said that Iran\u2019s frozen assets would not be released until it begins giving up its highly enriched uranium, a key US demand.<\/p>\n
Asked by Welker why Iran hasn\u2019t agreed to the US ceasefire terms, which include the removal of its highly enriched uranium, Trump said: \u201cBecause they\u2019re strong. They\u2019re proud.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are things they never thought they\u2019d be doing that they\u2019re going to have to do. They\u2019ve got no choice. And it takes a little while.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Trump administration has made limiting Iran\u2019s capacity to build a nuclear weapon a top goal, and Tehran\u2019s openness to turning over its enriched uranium is another significant point of contention in the talks.<\/p>\n
If a deal is reached, Trump said, the US will work with Iran, using US equipment, to remove and destroy its highly enriched uranium. \u201cIf we make a deal that now we\u2019re friendly, we\u2019ll all go together,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow, if we don\u2019t make a deal, then we\u2019re going to take them out militarily, very harshly. And we\u2019ll wait until we do that before we go, in which case we\u2019ll have safety either way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sign up to Herald Premium Editor\u2019s Picks<\/a>, delivered straight to your inbox every Friday. Editor-in-Chief Murray Kirkness picks the week\u2019s best features, interviews and investigations. Sign up for Herald Premium here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cThe Iranian terror regime made a grave mistake when it chose terror once again,\u201d IDF spokesman Effie Defrin…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":150293,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[4],"tags":[8849,48390,48393,48392,177,14085,20899,37559,3779,3368,40623,34,37,44068,4128,712,48394,591,3852,14320,2405,33117,48396,1647,2081,69,48391,48395,3892],"class_list":["post-150292","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tehran","tag-after","tag-barrage","tag-broker","tag-complicate","tag-conflict","tag-deal","tag-efforts","tag-exchange","tag-fire","tag-fires","tag-further","tag-iran","tag-israel","tag-lasting","tag-launches","tag-missiles","tag-monthslong","tag-of","tag-on","tag-open","tag-peace","tag-prospect","tag-raised","tag-return","tag-strikes","tag-tehran","tag-threatened","tag-usisraeli","tag-with"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@iran\/116712713966078097","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150292","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=150292"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150292\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/150293"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=150292"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=150292"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=150292"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}