Summary
- Israel struck the southern outskirts of Beirut on Sunday, breaking a fragile truce announced just days earlier, and prompting an influential Iranian lawmaker to threaten retaliation.
- Netanyahu briefly suspended strikes and agreed to a truce plan with Beirut, but Hezbollah—excluded from the deal—has continued attacks, insisting it will not disarm unless Israel halts fighting and withdraws.
- The Beirut strike and Iran’s vow of retaliation now risk derailing already fragile negotiations, underscoring how Lebanon’s battlefield has become central to the fate of the wider U.S.–Iran war.
Israel struck the southern outskirts of Beirut on Sunday, breaking a fragile truce announced just days earlier, and prompting an influential Iranian lawmaker to threaten retaliation. The strike targeted Dahiyeh, a Hezbollah stronghold, after the Israeli military said it intercepted projectiles fired across the border. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed the attack was ordered in response to Hezbollah fire.
Iran has long tied any peace deal with the United States to a ceasefire in Lebanon, where Israel invaded in March to pursue Hezbollah fighters. Hardline lawmaker Ebrahim Rezaei, spokesperson for Iran’s parliament’s national security committee, wrote on X that Tehran would deliver a “decisive and painful response,” warning Israelis to “look at the sky of the occupied territories tonight.”
The escalation comes as Washington and Tehran struggle to finalize a preliminary agreement to end the wider war launched in February by U.S. President Donald Trump alongside Israel. Trump has pressed Netanyahu to scale back operations in Lebanon to allow space for a deal, even rebuking him in a heated phone call last week. Netanyahu briefly suspended strikes and agreed to a truce plan with Beirut, but Hezbollah—excluded from the deal—has continued attacks, insisting it will not disarm unless Israel halts fighting and withdraws.
Sunday’s strike coincided with a military funeral in Beirut for Brigadier General Wissam Sabra, killed in southern Lebanon the previous day. Meanwhile, the Israeli military issued evacuation orders for Tyre and surrounding areas, signaling further operations.
The broader conflict remains stalemated. U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran paused in April, but Tehran has blocked most shipping through the Strait of Hormuz while Washington enforces a blockade of Iranian ports. Both sides claim they are close to a deal to reopen the strait, yet repeated flare‑ups—including Iranian attacks on U.S. bases in Kuwait and Bahrain—have undermined progress.
On Saturday, U.S. forces struck Iranian radar sites in Goruk and Qeshm Island after shooting down drones threatening maritime traffic. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards retaliated with missile attacks on U.S. bases in Kuwait and Bahrain. Kuwait’s army reported intercepting seven missiles, with debris causing material damage but no casualties.
The Beirut strike and Iran’s vow of retaliation now risk derailing already fragile negotiations, underscoring how Lebanon’s battlefield has become central to the fate of the wider U.S.–Iran war.
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