Iran has launched a barrage of missiles towards Israel, after warnings from Tehran that Israel must halt its ongoing assault on southern Lebanon or face more attacks.
Multiple rounds of strikes targeted Israel starting at about 10pm local time (19:00 GMT) on Sunday, triggering sirens in locations across the country, the Israeli army said in a series of Telegram posts.
The army said it “intercepted all missiles from Iran thus far”, with the Home Front Command advising residents they could leave protected spaces about an hour later.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) confirmed it targeted Israel’s Ramat David airbase with ballistic missiles in a statement circulated by Iranian media, calling the attack a response to “the widespread killing and displacement of the oppressed people of the Tyre and Nabatieh regions” of southern Lebanon.
“Tonight’s operation was a warning, and if the aggressions are repeated, the responses will be broader and will encompass all American-Zionist targets in the region,” the IRGC statement said.
Shortly after the launches began, Mohsen Rezaee, the military adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, wrote on X that Iran “repeatedly stated that it will not tolerate violations of the ceasefire and aggression against Lebanon”.
“Tonight, the aggressors received their response,” he said. “This response is a warning to stop their evil; any new action will be met with a more crushing response and heavier costs.”
Speaking to Channel 12’s Barak Ravid, Trump said: “The Iranian strikes didn’t hurt anybody. Hopefully, Israel is not going to retaliate. If Bibi strikes them back, it’s just gonna keep going like the last 47 years, or the last 3,000 years.”
Trump added, “We are very close to a final deal with Iran. It is going to be a good deal. I don’t want it to blow up because of what is happening now.
“I 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’t need another one.”
“I don’t want to see an additional attack tonight,” Trump reportedly added.
Ravid suggested it is “not clear” that the US would support Israel if it decides to attack Iran. Decision-makers will need to think twice before doing so, Ravid added, noting that a senior US official has told him that “we’re not in this” – in apparent reference to a new escalation.
Channel 12 notes that Israeli officials said earlier on Sunday they were indeed planning a “forceful response”.
