Israel launched a wave of retaliatory missiles at Iran overnight, ignoring calls from Donald Trump to do the exact opposite. Iran and Israel traded strikes starting last Sunday in the first blows since an April ceasefire paused the US and Israel's war in the Middle East.
Following an Israeli attack in Dahiyya, Lebanon, against Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah, Iran responded by launching ballistic missiles. Iranians celebrated the counter-strike in Qom and at Ferdowsi Square in Tehran until the early hours today. Footage by Iran's semiofficial Mehr News Agency shows Iranians cheering, riding motorcycles, playing drums and waving flags.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, a powerful arm of the Iranian military, said the missiles were a retaliation against Israel's continued bombing of Lebanon, despite the cease-fire. 'Tonight's operation was a warning, and if aggressions are repeated, the responses will be broader,' it added. Some of the drones fired at Israel carried the message: 'We will not abandon Lebanon,' and: 'We are fighting the corrupt people of Epstein Island,' according to the Fars News Agency.
Israel's military asked civilians to shelter before announcing at around 11pm local time that it had intercepted the missiles. The tit-for-tat carried on well into this morning, with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) saying more missiles were fired from Iran a 'short while ago'. Iranian military officials said that Israel used ballistic missiles air-launched into the heart of Iran. Amid a storm, explosions tore through Tehran as well as Tabriz and Isfahan. Tasnim News Agency also reported blasts near Karaj and Mahshahr.
US president Donald Trump is to call Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to urge him to rein in his attacks. 'I call the shots,' Trump said, according to the Financial Times. 'He doesn't call the shots.' The Iran war started in February when the US and Israel launched surprise attacks.
Trump insisted in a pre-recorded interview broadcast yesterday that he never pledged not to start new wars if elected for a second term. He told NBC on Friday: 'I didn't guarantee no war. Why would I have built the strongest military in the world?' During his 2024 candidacy, the Republican repeatedly said he would not drag the US into war. And he reminded the world of this during his victory speech: 'They said, "He will start a war." I'm not going to start a war. I'm going to stop wars.'
