Iran fires missiles at Israel in first attack since Middle East ceasefire

Sunday saw air raid sirens blaring in Israel as its military scrambled to intercept a barrage of incoming Iranian missiles, marking the first such incident since a ceasefire took hold in the Middle East war in April.

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This development came after Israel launched a strike on Beirut's southern suburbs earlier in the day, prompting Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guards to describe the subsequent attack as a "warning" and threatening broader strikes if Israel's aggression continued.

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A ceasefire on April 8 had brought a halt to major hostilities between Iran, Israel, and the United States, but efforts to cement a lasting settlement have stalled, and the latest launches have likely dashed hopes for a lasting peace as the Middle East war enters its 100th day.

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Tehran has consistently maintained that any permanent end to the war must also involve a cessation of the parallel conflict in Lebanon, where Israel is currently pursuing a campaign against the Iran-backed movement Hezbollah, and had warned of a "full-scale resumption" of hostilities in the event of new attacks on Beirut.

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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, resulting in the deaths of two people and injuring 20 more, according to Lebanon's health ministry.

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Hezbollah had confirmed launching missiles and drones at a pair of Israeli army barracks on Sunday morning, prompting Israel to carry out the strike, which it had warned would occur if the area was attacked.

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Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran's parliament speaker and chief negotiator in talks with Washington, accused the US of giving a "green light" for the Beirut attack, declaring that US and Israeli assets were now "legitimate targets" in response.

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Hours later, the Israeli military reported intercepting at least three waves of incoming missiles, with its air defences working to "identify and intercept threats".

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The head of Iran's military central command stated that Israel had "crossed all red lines" with the Beirut strike, demanding that it halt its campaign in Lebanon, as the Revolutionary Guards warned that "if such aggressions are repeated, the responses will be broader and will cover all US-Zionist targets in the region".

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Following the attack, Iran announced the closure of its airspace over the country's west, with neighbouring Iraq and nearby Syria swiftly following suit.

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The sharp escalation has come at a time when Iranians are already feeling the strain of weeks of uncertainty, with fitness trainer Elaheh from Ahvaz saying "I really have gone numb" and describing daily life as "a joke" due to rising prices.

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Elaheh, 32, added that "everything is horrible" and that people were merely trying to survive, while Farhad, a 35-year-old chef, noted that life was becoming "increasingly difficult" due to economic hardship that had set in even before the war.

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Farhad told AFP that "things that just a few months ago you might have considered buying have now become dreams and fairy tales", highlighting the economic struggles faced by many Iranians.

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Despite the tensions, there were signs of ongoing diplomatic efforts over the weekend, including a visit to Tehran by Pakistan's interior minister Mohsin Naqvi, who said he would deliver a "special letter" from Pakistan's army chief to Iran's supreme leader.

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Naqvi's visit came as 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, and Lebanese army chief Rodolphe Haykal travelled to Pakistan for his own talks with Munir.

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A source familiar with Haykal's visit said it was "linked to the Pakistani mediation" between Tehran and Washington, as efforts continue to find a resolution to the conflict.

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Mohsen Rezaei, military adviser to Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, stated that 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.

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However, Trump said that he would not unfreeze Iranian assets before reaching an initial agreement with Tehran, saying "if they behave, if they do a good job, we start talking".

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According to a source familiar with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's thinking, Washington may seek to use the frozen funds to pay for damage wrought by Iranian strikes on Gulf allies.

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US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that it had destroyed two Iranian drones "that threatened international maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz", following a previous drone interception and strikes on Iranian radar sites.

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The drone incident had prompted Tehran to fire a salvo of missiles at US allies Bahrain and Kuwait on Saturday, highlighting the ongoing tensions in the region.