JERUSALEM — In a significant escalation, Israel announced on Sunday that Iran has fired missiles at its territory. This marks the first such attack since a tenuous ceasefire was established in early April, adding new challenges to ongoing mediation efforts aimed at resolving the conflict.
Iranian state media confirmed the missile launches, and reports of numerous explosions came from northern Israel. The Israeli military stated it was actively working to intercept the missiles, acknowledging that their defenses are not entirely foolproof. Alarms were reportedly set off in various parts of the country.
The attack from Iran follows a warning of retaliation after Israel launched an unexpected strike on the southern suburbs of Beirut on Sunday. This action defied a recent request from the United States for restraint. Israel described its actions as a response to earlier attacks by the Iranian-supported Hezbollah on northern Israeli regions.
Israel’s offensive in Beirut occurred just days after a ceasefire agreement brokered by the U.S. between the Lebanese and Israeli governments. However, Hezbollah did not accept this deal. The strike on a residential area resulted in the deaths of two individuals and injured 20 others, according to Lebanon’s health ministry.
Tehran had cautioned that any attack on Beirut could reignite widespread conflict throughout the Middle East. This comes at a time when Pakistan is attempting to revive discussions between Iran and the U.S., with Iran insisting that any agreement should include an end to hostilities in Lebanon.
The ongoing Israeli strikes and ground operations in Lebanon, aimed at targeting Hezbollah, alongside the group’s refusal to disarm, have complicated efforts to reach a comprehensive peace deal in the Middle East. Iran has stipulated that any resolution must address and cease the fighting in Lebanon.
The White House did not comment on Israel’s strike in Beirut. Israel on Monday had announced it would strike the southern suburbs of Lebanon’s capital, but urgent talks via Washington halted that on the condition that Hezbollah stop targeting Israeli border towns.
Hezbollah did not immediately claim responsibility for firing at Israel earlier Sunday.
Hezbollah wants the direct talks between Lebanon and Israel to end and instead supports Iran’s stance that an overall ceasefire deal between Tehran and Washington include the situation in Lebanon.
Mediation efforts on that larger deal continued Sunday as Pakistan’s interior minister visited Iran to talk with officials and Egypt said its foreign minister and his Qatari counterpart discussed “proposed elements” of a potential agreement, with no details.
U.S. President Donald Trump did not comment on the war Sunday, but in an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press” that aired after a Friday taping he said he would like to see a “more surgical attack on Hezbollah.” He also said he was “not demanding” that Lebanon be part of an overall ceasefire deal in the Iran war.
Meanwhile, Iran continued to assert its grip on the Strait of Hormuz and the U.S. continued its blockade of Iranian ports, with shipments of oil, natural gas and fertilizer affected and the global economy in pain.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces elections later this year, wants to press ahead with Israel’s offensive until he believes Hezbollah no longer poses a threat.
Mediation efforts continued
Pakistan’s interior minister was in Tehran on Sunday in a fresh bid to restart negotiations between Iran and the U.S.
Mohsin Naqvi was delivering a message to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei from Pakistan’s army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, according to Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency. There were no details on the message’s contents.
Khamenei has not been seen in public since he was named the Islamic Republic’s ruler after his father was killed on Feb. 28, the first day of the war.
Naqvi met with Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni late Saturday and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Sunday, according to official Iranian media.
Pakistani authorities have said Islamabad, with support from regional countries including Qatar, Turkey and Egypt, is working to help bridge differences between the United States and Iran.
In Cairo, Egyptian Foreign Minister Bader Abdelatty and Qatari counterpart Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani discussed “proposed elements” of a potential agreement between the U.S. and Iran, the Egyptian foreign ministry said, without details.
Meanwhile, the U.S. military said it shot down two more Iranian drones over the Strait of Hormuz that it said threatened international maritime traffic.
The heaviest fighting ended with a preliminary ceasefire on April 8, but Washington and Tehran have not agreed on a long-term end to the war.
The U.S. military has kept up its blockade on Iranian ports in response to Tehran’s grip on the Strait of Hormuz. Energy prices have spiked, posing political problems for Trump’s Republican Party ahead of midterm congressional elections in November.
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Chehayeb reported from Beirut, Magdy from Cairo and Lidman from Tel Aviv, Israel. Associated Press writers Munir Ahmed in Islamabad, Matthew Lee in Washington and Michelle L. Price in Bridgewater, New Jersey, contributed to this report.
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