This Sunday (7) Iran launched ballistic missiles against Israel for the first time since the ceasefire came into force on April 8, worsening the diplomatic impasse and raising the risk of a definitive rupture of the truce in the Middle East. Two ballistic missiles were intercepted by Israeli air defense, with no immediate reports of injuries or damage.
Iranian state TV confirmed the launch of the projectiles. The Israeli armed forces said they were working to intercept the missiles and warned that “the defense is not airtight”, while sirens sounded in several areas of the country.
The Iranian attack is the result of a chain of escalations throughout Sunday. , stating that the offensive was in retaliation for shooting by the Shiite group against northern Israel. Hezbollah did not immediately claim responsibility for the shooting. The attack on a residential building left two dead and 20 injured, according to Lebanon’s Ministry of Health.
Iran had warned that an offensive on Beirut could reignite full-scale war. Iranian chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, president of Parliament, warned on Sunday that the Israeli attack on southern Beirut and the American naval blockade of Iranian ports would provoke retaliation.
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The episode deepens a diplomatic crisis that had already been deteriorating. On June 1, Iran had suspended Pakistan-mediated talks, demanding an end to Israeli bombings in Lebanon as a condition for resuming them. This Sunday, even before the launch of the missiles, President Donald Trump stated on social media that the talks were progressing at an “accelerated pace”, without Tehran confirming the resumption of dialogues.
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The immediate context of this afternoon’s conflict was already tense. On Saturday (6), Iran accused the US of violating the ceasefire after US forces shot down six Iranian attack drones aimed at the Strait of Hormuz, and Washington retaliated with attacks on Iranian coastal surveillance radars in Goruk and the island of Qeshm.
The Strait of Hormuz, through which around 20% of the world’s oil passes, has remained effectively closed since the start of the conflict. The reopening of the crossing is one of the main American demands in the negotiations, alongside the dismantling of the Iranian nuclear program.
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(Com Wall Street Journal)
