Iran warns 'imminent' response coming to Israeli strike on Beirut
Iran’s highest national security body warned on Sunday that a response was “imminent” following an Israeli strike targeting Tehran’s ally Hezbollah in Beirut’s southern suburbs.
“The response of the fighters of Islam is imminent,” the Supreme National Security Council said in a statement on X. “Lebanon is our life and violation of the red lines of the Islamic Republic will not be tolerated.”
Updated
The secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, addressing the recent Israeli military action in Lebanon, warned that a response from the “Islamic warriors” is coming, according to Reuters.
Donald Trump reiterated that a peace deal with Iran was still on track to be signed within hours, despite an Israeli strike on Beirut that he said had delayed the plan, adding that he told Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he has “no fu*king judgement”.
“It shook it up. It delayed the signing by a few hours. It was supposed to be now. Now it is scheduled for a few hours from now,” Trump said in a phone call with Axios.
Trump fumed at Netanyahu over the attack on Beirut, saying, “it is so bad – I couldn’t believe it. An hour before we are supposed to sign the deal.”
Using a string of expletives, Trump told Axios he raged at Netanyahu after Israel struck Beirut’s southern suburbs on Sunday, killing three people, in response to what it said was Hezbollah fire at northern Israel.
“Why did Bibi (Netanyahu) have to do a fucking attack?” Trump told Axios. “I was so pissed off. I let him know. He has no fucking judgement. I let him know that.”
Trump says he will ask Iran not to respond to Israeli strikes on Beirut, reports say
Donald Trump said he will ask Iran not to respond against Israeli strikes that targeted Hezbollah, Fox News correspondent Trey Yingst reported.
Trump also told Fox News that he asked Israeli prime minister Netanyahu “what the fu*k are you doing?”
Trump added that he believes a deal with Iran will be electronically signed in the next 2-3 hours.
Updated
Defense secretary Pete Hegseth said the US is already “doing things” to quickly secure safe passage through the strait of Hormuz.
“We’re already doing things I can’t talk about on this program to ensure that safe passage happens as quickly as possible,” Hegseth said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” “So we’re all over this, we know exactly what the dynamics are.”
Hegseth said “once this deal is signed, our expectation is that Iran will stop shooting” at commercial shipping vessels.
“We’re attuned to what’s happening with Hezbollah firing rockets into northern Israel, which they need to stop doing,” he said, adding that “Iran needs to encourage them to stop doing that in very adamant ways”.
“If Iran wants this to hold, they need to pull back Hezbollah, no doubt,” he added.
Israel’s foreign ministry said in an X post that “Iran’s proxy, Hezbollah, is the one that attacked Israel again this morning, completely unprovoked”.
“Hezbollah constantly fires at Israeli civilians,” it said, adding that these attacks have continued “even after the ceasefire”.
“It was Hezbollah that launched an unprovoked attack on Israel in March, acting under the orders of its Iranian masters,” it said.
The statement came in response to comments that were made Sunday by Iran’s top negotiator, Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, who said Israel’s latest strikes on Beirut show the US is not fulfilling its commitments.
“The Zionists’ incursion into Dahiyeh has once again shown that America either lacks the will to fulfill its commitments or the ability to do so. By giving the green light to the regime, you cannot gain concessions. The game of bad cop and good cop is outdated,” Ghalibaf wrote. “If you lack the will and ability to fulfill your commitments, speaking of continuing the path is not possible”.
Israel’s army said in a social media post that “several suspected aerial targets” fell a short while ago in the north of the country, near the Lebanese border.
“No injuries were reported, and the incident is under review,” it added.
Trump says Israel's attack on Beirut 'should not have happened'
In a Truth Social post, Donald Trump has criticised Israel for attacking the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital Beirut earlier today seeing as Washington and Tehran are “so close” to a peace deal.
Trump said there should be no more attacks on Lebanon, something Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is very unlikely to accept. He also warned Hezbollah, the Iran backed Lebanese militant group, of striking across the border into Israel.
Trump said:
This morning’s attack on Beirut should not have happened, particularly on a special day when we are so close to a Peace Deal with Iran. Israel has the right to defend itself against threats, but the attack it was responding to was very small and meaningless, nobody was hurt, injured, or killed, and should not disrupt this important process.
We are very close to a Deal that will bring peace to the region, including to Lebanon, and all sides should stand down. There should be no more attacks by Israel anywhere in Lebanon, but there should also be no more attacks by any other party, including Hezbollah, against Israel. This could be the beginning of a long and beautiful peace — Let’s not blow it!
Updated
Despite Iran’s cautious statements, the US ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz told ABC News’s ‘This Week’ programme that Donald Trump and his vice-president JD Vance have every “intent” for an agreement with Tehran to be signed today.
“I’ll leave the actual details and timing to the White House,” he said. “The Iranians are incredibly difficult negotiators coupled with the fact that they’re having a very hard time getting guidance from their supreme leader.”
“I’m confident, the team is confident,” Waltz added. “I’ll let the final details be announced by them. I don’t want to get ahead of the president or the vice president, but they have every intent of getting this done today.”
The proposed deal calls for reopening the strait of Hormuz and lifting the US naval blockade on Iranian ports, sources on either side of the talks said. Negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program would take place afterwards.
According to Iranian officials, the agreement would end conflict on all fronts, including Lebanon, and ensure the release of $24bn (£18bn) of Iran’s frozen assets, as my colleagues note in this story.
It would also set a 60-day period for negotiations on Tehran’s nuclear programme, offer the suspension of sanctions on the sale of Iran’s oil and petrochemical products, allow Iran to levy service charges on passage through the strait of Hormuz and lift the US naval blockade on Iranian ports, which has been in place since 13 April.
Updated
Iranian media says US-Iran deal not yet finalised
Citing a source “close” to the Iranian negotiating team, the Fars news agency is reporting that the emerging US-Iran deal is yet to be finalised and that “no agreement will definitely be signed at the time Trump announced”.
Donald Trump announced yesterday that a deal is scheduled to be signed at some point today, though Tehran has cast doubt on the timings. Qatari negotiators reportedly flew to Tehran this morning to help facilitate the finalisation of the agreement – but Israel’s ongoing attacks on Lebanon are likely to complicate diplomatic efforts.
The Israeli military said it was preparing for a possible retaliatory attack “in the coming hours”, after carrying out a deadly strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs earlier on Sunday.
“Following the IDF strike in Beirut ... the IDF is preparing for potential fire toward the territory of the state of Israel in the coming hours,” the military said.
Israel’s military chief, Eyal Zamir, said the military is “closely monitoring developments” across the region. “Lebanon is our main center of gravity, but we are also preparing for developments in other arenas,” Zamir was quoted as having said during a meeting with commanders at the Northern Command.
Egypt’s president, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, is expected to have a meeting with Donald Trump on the sidelines of the G7 summit.
The summit, which is taking place in Évian-les-Bains, on France’s eastern border with Switzerland, will start tomorrow and last three days.
A spokesperson for the Egyptian presidency said Egypt’s participation “underscores its pivotal role in advancing development and stability efforts in the Middle East”. “During the summit, President El-Sisi is scheduled to hold a multitude of bilateral meetings with participating world leaders on the sidelines of the summit, prominently featuring a bilateral meeting with US President Donald Trump,” the statement added.
Lebanon’s state-run National News agency is reporting that Israel carried out a “large bombing operation” in the southern Lebanese town of Haddatha this afternoon. No casualties or injuries were immediately reported. We will monitor for developments on this.
Iran military official reportedly says Beirut attack will not go 'unanswered'
A senior Iranian military official has warned that Israel’s strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs would not go “unanswered” by Tehran, according to local media (see post at 11.45 for more details on the attack).
“Without a doubt, these crimes will not go unanswered,” Brigadier General Mohammad Jafar Asadi, deputy commander of Iran’s highest military command, told Defa Press news agency.
The IDF notified the US Central Command (Centcom) about its strike on Beirut’s Dahiyeh district shortly before the attack took place, according to Axios’ global affairs correspondent Barak Ravid.
Iran says that any Israeli attack on Beirut is a violation of the ceasefire with the US and could therefore derail ongoing peace talks.
Analysts say Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to sabotage the talks for his own political purposes. He clearly seems reluctant to stop the attacks on Lebanon, which the military says are only targeting Hezbollah fighters and sites, even though the strikes regularly kill civilians and destroy civilian infrastructure.
Updated
According to a statement on the Iranian foreign minister’s official Telegram account, Abbas Araghchi highlighted the fact that many observers now argue that his country has emerged more powerful from the war than the before (principally because it has shown its ability to impact the global economy through control of the strategic strait of Hormuz, and attack US-allied Gulf countries, which are incredibly vulnerable despite the fact they are meant to be safeguarded under an American security blanket).
“This change in perspective is not simply due to the country’s defense capabilities; rather, it is rooted in the steadfastness, solidarity, and resistance of the Iranian nation, which were the main support of the country in difficult days,” Araghchi wrote.
The Iranian foreign minister also spoke of Iran’s importance in relation to regional security going forward. He wrote in his post: “The experience of the recent war showed that regional security cannot be based on eliminating or ignoring Iran.”
“The countries of the region have gradually come to the realisation that sustainable security, economic development, and regional stability are only possible through cooperation, understanding, and consideration of the common interests of all countries in the region, including the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
Updated
Iran's top negotiator says Israeli attack on Beirut suburbs shows US lacks will or ability to fulfill commitments
Iran’s top negotiator, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, said on Sunday that Israel’s attack on Beirut’s southern suburbs showed the United States either lacked the will to fulfill its commitments or the ability to do so, Reuters reports.
In a post on X, he said continuing on the current path would be impossible if commitments could not be fulfilled.
The deputy commander of Iran’s top joint military command, Khatam al-Anbiya central headquarters, said on Sunday that Israeli “crimes” in the southern suburbs of Lebanon’s capital will not go unanswered, according to state media.
The comments follow Israeli strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs that Israel claimed targeted Iran’s Lebanese ally Hezbollah.
Updated
Summary of the day so far
Here are summary of today’s development’s so far as we wait for any concrete details on a potential peace deal between the US and Iran:
-
The Israeli military has launched strikes on Beirut it claimed were targeting Hezbollah infrastructure. Smoke has been seen rising over the capital.
-
Lebanon civil defence says three people were killed in the strikes.
-
The attacks follow the IDF telling people in 29 villages in southern Lebanon to leave their homes ahead of strikes.
-
The attack on Beirut were launched despite ongoing efforts to secure a peace deal between the US and Iran. On Saturday night Trump said the two countries would sign the deal on Sunday
-
However sources told Iranian media that Tehran had ‘not yet’ made a final decision on signing the deal.
-
This follows Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson, Esmaeil Baghaei, advising caution on Saturday. “We will have to wait and see about the exact date of the signing of the memorandum of understanding, although it will not be tomorrow,” Baghaei was quoted as saying. “The possibility of this happening in the coming days cannot be ruled out.”
-
Qatari mediators have traveled to Tehran on Sunday to finalise the agreement according to sources, suggesting there is more detail to be resolved.
-
No concrete details have emerged on the deal, but it is reported that Iran has agreed not to produce or acquire a nuclear weapon under a draft memorandum of understanding between Iran’s leaders and the US, according to a senior Iranian official speaking to the Reuters news agency.
-
Pakistan’s prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, said on Saturday Islamabad was preparing for an electronic signing within 24 hours to be followed by technical-level talks next week. “We are closer to a peace deal than ever before,” Sharif wrote on social media.
-
Pro-government night-time rallies continue across Iran, and have now been held for more than 100 nights, with some people protesting an agreement with the US. A resident in the north-eastern city of Mashhad told Reuters in Dubai that some protesters chanted: “Death to the compromiser,” in an apparent reference to the foreign minister Abbas Araqchi.
Updated
Some images from today’s Israeli strikes on Beirut. The strikes are second strikes on the capital in a week.
There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah on the Israeli statement regarding strikes on Beirut, but the group said it launched missiles and drones towards Israeli troops in southern Lebanon.
Explosions heard in Beirut as Israel targets southern suburbs of Lebanese city
Israel says it has struck Beirut’s south suburbs, with explosions heard in the city. The Israeli military claimed the attacks on the Lebanese capital were in response to Hezbollah firing into Israeli territory.
The military were reportedly targeting Hezbollah targets in Beirut’s southern suburbs, the group’s stronghold known as Dahiyeh, according to a joint statement by prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and defense minister Israel Katz.
The Israeli military has “just carried out strikes in the Dahiyeh district of Beirut against terrorist targets belonging to the Hezbollah terrorist organisation, in response to Hezbollah’s firing toward Israeli territory”, Netanyahu’s office said in a statement. The military said it had “precisely struck” a Hezbollah infrastructure site in Dahiyeh.
Lebanon’s official National News Agency (NNA) said a strike hit Ghobeiry, while an AFP correspondent reported hearing explosions from the southern suburbs.
Updated
Following earlier reporting that sirens had sounded in areas of southern Israel, the Israeli military has since said that they sirens were a result of false identification.
Reuters is reporting some of the supposed terms of the draft agreement between the US and Iran. The Guardian is been unable to verify these claims.
Senior Iranian officials have reportedly told Reuters that the under the draft memorandum with the US, Tehran must agree that it will neither produce nor acquire nuclear weapons.
Tehran must also dilute highly enriched uranium stockpile with the mechanism to be discussed in the next 60 days. There must be no uranium enrichment or expansion of facilities.
Under the draft memorandum the US will waive oil sanctions on Iran for a specified period, allowing Tehran to sell and receive revenues. The US must not impose new sanctions on Iran until a final deal is reached.
The US must also agree to release $25bn of Iran’s frozen assets including via direct cash transfers.
Iran will also be required to immediatley reopen the strait of Hormuz to all commercial vessels while the US will lift the naval blockade.
Donald Trump has said the deal would be signed today but Iranian media has said sources tell them that a final decision on signing an agreement has ‘not yet’ been taken by Tehran.
Updated
The Israeli military said on Sunday that sirens have sounded in several areas of southern Israel.
Earlier it has said that Hezbollah launched three projectiles towards northern Israeli communities in what it described as a blatant ceasefire violation.
The IDF told people to leave their homes in 29 villages in southern Lebanon, ahead of Israeli stirkes.
Iran media says Tehran 'not yet' taken final decision on US peace deal
Iran’s Fars news agency said on Sunday that Tehran has not made a final decision on signing the agreement under discussion with the United States to end the Middle East war, AFP reports.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran has not yet taken or announced its final decision concerning the memorandum of understanding proposed during negotiations,” reported Fars, which is close to Iranian conservative circles, citing “a well-informed source close to the Iranian negotiating team”.
The prospective agreement has faced opposition from hardline Iranian figures, who argue that it does not serve Iran’s interests and would deprive Tehran of leverage over the strategic strait of Hormuz.
An Indian national died from medical complications aboard the vessel MT Celestial while it was docked at Duqm Port in Oman, the Indian embassy in Muscat said late Saturday.
“Necessary arrangements are being made for the early repatriation of the mortal remains to India,” the embassy said in a post on social media.
India has more than 300,000 seafarers working across global shipping fleets, according to government data. More than 18,000 Indian seafarers are employed in the Middle East, an official in the country’s shipping ministry said last week.
The death comes days after three Indian seafarers were killed in a US strike on a tanker off Oman, triggering criticism from the public and opposition parties.
Israel army issues evacuation order for 29 south Lebanon villages
The IDF has told people in 29 villages in southern Lebanon to leave their homes ahead of strikes, AFP reports.
The evacuation warnings come ahead of planned strikes, despite a ceasefire intended to halt the war with Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
The military’s Arabic-language spokesman, Colonel Avichay Adraee, issued two successive warnings – first for 13 villages, then for 16 more, with the second targeting communities north of the Zahrani river.
Earlier, Israeli military said two drones, suspected to have been launched by militant group Hezbollah from Lebanon, struck northern Israel on Sunday but caused no casualties.
“Two impacts of suspicious aerial targets in Israeli territory were identified near the Israel-Lebanon border. No injuries were reported,” the military said.
In the wake of the strikes, two far-right Israeli ministers called for retaliatory strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold known as Dahiyeh.
Qatari negotiators flew to Tehran in effort to finalise deal to end war with US, source and Iranian media says
Qatari negotiators flew to Tehran on Sunday morning as part of effort to finalise an agreement to end US-Iran war, a source with knowledge of the situation told Reuters.
US and Pakistan leaders forecast a Sunday signing of a framework agreement to end the more than three-month-long war, but Tehran cast doubt over the timing as hardline protesters in Iran voiced opposition.
Iran’s ISNA news agency reported that an adviser to Qatar’s foreign minister had been dispatched to the Islamic republic, while another Iranian news agency Tasnim said the purpose of the visit was to “go over the latest developments regarding the diplomatic process”.
Key event
Donald Trump says a peace deal with Iran is scheduled to be signed today, which would see the strait of Hormuz opened. However, the US president warned if no deal was reached the US has “the ultimate alternative, hopefully never to be used again!”
In a Truth Social post, Trump said Iran “no longer want a Nuclear Weapon, nor will they have one, either through purchase, development, or any other form of procurement”.
Recent days have seen the most intense clashes between Iran and the US since a ceasefire came into effect in April. The US president has claimed about 40 times that a deal was on the point of completion, only to revert to threatening Iran with new attacks.
Officials from the US and Iran are trying to frame any deal as a victory. Abbas Araghchi, the Iranian foreign minister, said on state television on Friday that the draft agreement showed his country had emerged stronger from the conflict.
“Iran is the winner of the war with the US,” he told viewers.
Trump says Iran deal will be signed today but Tehran casts doubt on timing
Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s continuing coverage of the crisis in the Middle East.
Peace talks between the US and Iran grind on with Donald Trump on Saturday saying the US is set to sign a new agreement with Iran today, and claiming the deal would prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, while reopening the strait of Hormuz to international shipping.
In a Truth Social post on Saturday, Trump said: “The Deal is scheduled to get signed tomorrow, and immediately after it is signed, the Hormuz Strait is OPEN TO ALL. Our relationship with Iran is a much different and better one than previous Administrations have had … Hopefully, this process will all work out quickly, easily, and smoothly. If it doesn’t, we have the ultimate alternative, hopefully never to be used again!”
In other key developments:
-
Pakistan’s prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, said on Saturday Islamabad was preparing for an electronic signing within 24 hours to be followed by technical-level talks next week. “We are closer to a peace deal than ever before,” Sharif wrote on social media.
-
But an Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson, Esmaeil Baghaei, counselled caution. “We will have to wait and see about the exact date of the signing of the memorandum of understanding, although it will not be tomorrow,” Baghaei was quoted as saying. “The possibility of this happening in the coming days cannot be ruled out.”
-
Pro-government night-time rallies continue across Iran, and have now been held for more than 100 nights, with some people protesting an agreement with the US. A resident in the north-eastern city of Mashhad told Reuters in Dubai that some protesters chanted: “Death to the compromiser,” in an apparent reference to the foreign minister Abbas Araqchi.
-
Meanwhile, Trump discussed the efforts to end the Iran conflict in a call with the British prime minister, Keir Starmer, Downing Street said on Saturday.
