Iran fires rockets at Israel

Iran war

Iran fires rockets at Israel

The war in Lebanon had recently put pressure on Iran’s leadership to rush to the aid of its ally Hezbollah. Now Iran’s armed forces are escalating the conflict with their arch-enemy.

Iran has fired rockets at Israel again. Late on Sunday evening, the Islamic Republic’s state media reported several volleys of rockets aimed at the arch-enemy. According to the Israeli military, all rockets in the first waves were intercepted.

According to the Israeli TV station N12, rocket debris struck northern Israel, including near the city of Tiberias. A 79-year-old suffered head injuries when she rushed into a shelter. Classes in all schools in Israel have been canceled for Monday, according to the Civil Defense. According to media reports, the international airport near Tel Aviv initially remained open.

Iran’s central military command confirmed the missile attacks. In a statement broadcast by state broadcaster, the Iranian armed forces justified the attack with “repeated violations” by the Israeli army of the ceasefire in Lebanon. Tehran had already threatened Israel with attacks and wanted to use it to support the Shiite Hezbollah militia in Lebanon.

In response to the escalation, Iran closed its airspace in the west of the country until further notice. Iraq and Syria temporarily closed all of their airspace. Reports that the Gulf states had also closed their airspace were initially not confirmed. The Iranian Red Crescent Society put its employees on alert for fear of Israeli counterattacks.

Specifically, Iran was reacting to new attacks by Israel in the suburbs of the Lebanese capital Beirut on Sunday, despite a ceasefire announced by US President Donald Trump. The army attacked “terrorist headquarters” in Beirut in response to previous shelling of Israel by Hezbollah, said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz.

Hezbollah is Iran’s most important non-state ally. Tehran had previously warned that further Israeli attacks on the greater Beirut area would be seen as a new escalation step in the regional confrontation.

Israel has significantly restricted attacks in the Beirut area since an official ceasefire came into force in mid-April. US President Donald Trump also announced a halt to Israeli attacks and an end to Hezbollah attacks on Israel. However, Israel had threatened to attack these areas again in the event of Hezbollah attacks on Israel and once again forced residents of the suburbs to flee.

Iran’s armed forces said they targeted the Israeli air base at Ramat David, among other places. In a statement from the Revolutionary Guards carried by Iran’s Tasnim news agency, the country’s elite force justified its attacks on the escalation in Lebanon. The ceasefire in the Iran war was negotiated on the premise that the conflict had to end on all fronts. Iran accused Israel and the USA of violating their obligations.

The Revolutionary Guards described the attacks that took place as a “warning”. If war breaks out again, “the answers will be more comprehensive and include all American Zionist targets in the region,” the armed forces said. According to Iranian state media, ballistic missiles were fired from several parts of the country.