Iran hits Israel with ballistic missiles - first time in more than a month

Iran fired two volleys of ballistic missiles at Israel on the evening of June 8 - after Israel had struck Lebanon's capital Beirut a few hours earlier, the Financial Times reported, citing a statement by the Israeli military. This is Iran's first such attack since mid-April, when a cease-fire began in the Middle East between the sides.

"Some time ago, sirens sounded in several areas of the country following the detection of rockets launched from Iran toward Israel," the Israeli military said in a statement to X. The Times of Israel, citing Israeli army data, writes that all the missiles fired by Iran were either intercepted or hit open spaces - there is no information about casualties or damage.

The White House has confirmed that US President Donald Trump has been briefed on the renewed fighting in the Middle East. Trump told Fox News Channel on Sunday that he believes the missile strikes would "definitely not help negotiations" with Iran. Already after the strikes on Israel, the U.S. leader called on Iran to "come back to the negotiating table and make a deal" for peace in the Middle East.

On June 8, Israel admitted to striking Iranian-backed Hezbollah infrastructure in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital, Beirut, over the weekend. According to the Israeli military, the attack followed the Lebanese armed group firing into northern Israel.The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, according to The New York Times, announced that the ensuing attack against Israel "was a warning. "If the aggression [Israel's aggression against Lebanon] is repeated, the response will be more extensive," the Iranian military said. Tel Aviv responded, according to CNN's sources, by also threatening Tehran with a "powerful" response.

"I'm going to call [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu right now and tell him not to retaliate against [Iran]," Axios correspondent Barak Ravid relayed Trump's reaction to this in his personal X account.

The escalation of the conflict in the Middle East came just days after the U.S. said on June 4: Israel and Lebanon had agreed to a cease-fire on condition of a complete cessation of hostilities by Hezbollah.Iran in turn argued that the strength of the peace agreement with the U.S. would depend on the observance of the ceasefire by Washington's allies, including in Lebanon, Reuters recalls. With the exception of two strikes last month, Israel stopped bombing Beirut suburbs on April 16 - after the U.S. announced a temporary ceasefire with Iran.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor