Iran's top negotiator and Parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, stated on Sunday that the US naval blockade of Iran and its green light for Israel to escalate attacks in Lebanon make US bases and Israeli assets in the Middle East legitimate targets. In a post on X, Ghalibaf criticized the US and Israel for not committing to a ceasefire and for violating agreements regarding Lebanon, emphasizing that they only understand the language of power.
Israeli Strikes on Beirut and Iranian Response
Israel struck the outskirts of Beirut on Sunday for the first time since the US announced a truce plan for Lebanon last week. An Iranian lawmaker threatened to retaliate, putting talks to end the wider war into new jeopardy. Iran has long stated that any peace deal with the United States would depend on a ceasefire also holding in Lebanon, which Israel invaded in March in pursuit of Iran-backed Hezbollah fighters.
Influential Iranian lawmaker Ebrahim Rezaei posted on X that Iran would deliver a "decisive and painful response." He wrote, "Look at the sky of the occupied territories tonight." Rezaei serves as the spokesperson for parliament's national security committee.
US-Iran Deal Stalemate
Washington and Tehran have shown little progress in reaching a deal to end the war that President Donald Trump launched in February with a campaign of air strikes alongside Israel against Iran. Trump has repeatedly threatened to restart the strikes unless there is an agreement soon. In an interview with NBC News, Trump stated, "We're very close to a deal, or I'm going to blow the hell out of them."
Trump has leaned on Israel to scale back its campaign in Lebanon to allow room for a peace deal with Iran, including rebuking Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with obscenities in a phone call last week. After the call, Netanyahu called off air strikes on Beirut and agreed to the latest truce plan with the Lebanese government. However, Israel has never fully halted its campaign in Lebanon, which has killed thousands and driven hundreds of thousands from their homes.
Hezbollah's Position and Continued Attacks
Hezbollah, which was not party to the truce and would be dismantled under its terms, has continued attacks and stated it would not give up its weapons unless Israel halts fighting and withdraws. Netanyahu said Sunday's strike on Beirut's southern outskirts, a district known as Dahiyeh that has long been a Hezbollah stronghold, was ordered in response to Hezbollah firing toward Israel. The Israeli military intercepted two projectiles fired over the border and issued an evacuation order for the southern Lebanese city of Tyre and surrounding areas.
In Beirut, mourners held a military funeral for Brigadier General Wissam Sabra, a senior military officer killed in a strike on his vehicle in the south the previous day.
Wider Conflict and Blockades
The wider war has been stalemated since the United States and Israel paused their attacks on Iran in early April, with Tehran blocking most shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, the main transit route for Middle East oil. Washington has imposed its own blockade of Iranian ports. Though both sides have said they are close to a preliminary agreement that would reopen the strait, they have repeatedly traded strikes, with escalations in recent days including attacks on nearby Arab states hosting US bases.
US forces struck Iranian coastal radar sites in Goruk and Qeshm Island, both in the Strait of Hormuz, early on Saturday after shooting down drones launched by Iran that US Central Command said posed a threat to maritime traffic. Two more Iranian attack drones threatening shipping in the strait were shot down late on Saturday. Iran's Revolutionary Guards retaliated against US bases in Kuwait and Bahrain. Kuwait's army said it engaged seven ballistic missiles that passed over residential areas, resulting in material damage but no casualties.
