(AFP) – Air raid sirens sounded in Israel on Sunday as its military worked to intercept barrages of incoming Iranian missiles for the first time since an April ceasefire took hold in the Middle East war. The Israeli army reported the attack just hours after Tehran had threatened to retaliate for a new Israeli strike on Beirut. An April 8 ceasefire had halted major hostilities between Iran, Israel, and the US, but efforts to turn the truce into a settlement have repeatedly stalled, and Sunday’s launches were sure to further dampen hopes for a lasting peace, as the Middle East war reached its 100th day.
Tehran has insisted any deal to permanently end the war must also halt the parallel conflict in Lebanon, where Israel is pursuing a campaign against the Iran-backed movement Hezbollah, and had warned that any new attacks on Beirut would trigger a “full-scale resumption” of hostilities. On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced that the army had “struck a militant command centre in Beirut’s Dahiyeh district, in response to Hezbollah’s fire towards Israeli territory”. The raid killed two people and wounded 20 more, Lebanon’s health ministry said. Israel had warned it would hit the area should Hezbollah attack northern Israel, and the group later confirmed having launched missiles and drones at a pair of Israeli army barracks on Sunday morning.
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s parliament speaker and its chief negotiator in talks with Washington, accused the United States of having given a “green light” for the Beirut attack, saying US and Israeli assets were now “legitimate targets”. Hours later, the Israeli military reported at least three waves of incoming missiles, saying its air defences were “currently identifying and intercepting threats”. The head of Iran’s military central command said Israel had “crossed all red lines” with the Beirut strike, demanding it halt its campaign in Lebanon. “The Israeli army must stop its attacks on southern Lebanon and the suburbs, and if it expands its attacks to that region or responds to Iran’s action, it will face more devastating and regrettable blows,” General Ali Abdollahi said.
– ‘Gone numb’ – The sharp escalation came as Iranians were already feeling the strain of weeks of uncertainty. Fitness trainer Elaheh from Ahvaz told AFP: “I really have gone numb.” “Daily life? It’s a joke. Everything is horrible. We only try to survive,” the 32-year-old added, pointing to rising prices. Farhad, a 35-year-old chef, also said life was becoming “increasingly difficult”, noting economic hardship had set in even before the war. “Things that just a few months ago you might have considered buying have now become dreams and fairy tales,” he told AFP.
There were some signs of ongoing diplomatic efforts over the weekend, with Pakistan’s interior minister Mohsin Naqvi visiting Tehran. Naqvi said upon his arrival Saturday that he would deliver a “special letter” from Pakistan’s army chief to Iran’s supreme leader, as well as a message from the prime minister, according to Iranian state television. Pakistani military leader Syed Asim Munir has played a key role in mediating between Iran and the US following an initial round of direct negotiations in Islamabad.
Also on Saturday, Lebanese army chief Rodolphe Haykal travelled to Pakistan for his own talks with Munir, and a source with knowledge of his visit said it was “linked to the Pakistani mediation” between Tehran and Washington.
– ‘Deadlock’ – Mohsen Rezaei, military adviser to Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, had told CNN negotiations with the US “are at a deadlock, and Trump must break this deadlock”, calling for the release of some $24 billion in frozen Iranian assets. But Trump said in the same interview that he would not unfreeze Iranian assets before reaching an initial agreement with Tehran. “If they behave, if they do a good job, we start talking,” he said. In fact, Washington may seek to use those funds to pay for damage wrought by Iranian strikes on Gulf allies, according to a source familiar with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s thinking.
Meanwhile, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said overnight that it destroyed two Iranian drones “that threatened international maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz”. A previous drone interception and strikes on Iranian radar sites had prompted Tehran on Saturday to fire a salvo of missiles at US allies Bahrain and Kuwait.
burs/smw/dc – by AFP teams in Tehran, Dubai, Manama, Kuwait and Washington
© 2024 AFP
