Tehran (AFP) – Israel and Iran exchanged attacks on Monday for the first time since a ceasefire in the Middle East war took effect two months ago, despite US President Donald Trump calling for restraint. The flare-up, which also drew in other countries in the region, saw Israel striking Iran after the Islamic Republic targeted it in vengeance for an airstrike on Beirut’s southern suburbs, where its proxy Hezbollah holds sway. It followed weeks of negotiations seeking to bring about a definitive end to the regional war sparked by US and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28. No casualties have been reported so far in either Israel or Iran. The attacks included a strike on an Iranian petrochemical complex and a missile attack on Israel by Yemen’s Houthi rebels. The Israeli military said it struck and dismantled Iranian defense systems deployed across several areas in the country. AFP journalists in Jerusalem and the West Bank city of Ramallah heard a series of explosions and the Israeli army said it worked to intercept a new wave of Iranian missiles.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had struck Israel’s Nevatim and Tel Nof air bases “in response to a missile attack launched by the Zionist regime.” Tehran blamed Washington for the resumption of fighting and said the flare-up would affect peace talks. “No one believes that the Zionist regime would carry out any action without prior coordination and cooperation with the United States,” foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said at a press conference in Tehran attended by AFP. “It is perfectly natural that the diplomatic process initiated to put an end to this imposed war would be affected.” Nonetheless, “diplomatic consultations are naturally continuing in all circumstances,” Baqaei added.
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels meanwhile announced a missile attack on Israel on Monday, the first since early April, and declared a ban on Israeli shipping in the Red Sea, raising the spectre of a return to major disruption on the key route. “We declare a complete and total ban on Israeli maritime navigation in the Red Sea,” said a statement from the Houthis’ armed forces. Trump called for calm from both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Iranians, but Israel accused Tehran of making a “grave mistake.” “I call the shots. I call all the shots. He doesn’t call the shots,” Trump said in an interview with the Financial Times on Sunday, referring to Netanyahu. In an interview with Fox News, Trump said: “What I would suggest to Iran: You’ve shot your missiles, that’s enough, get back to the table and make a deal.”
The European Union’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas urged calm Monday and called on both sides to “sit down to a negotiation table and agree.” China also called on the two sides to refrain from fighting, with foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian saying that “resuming hostilities is not in any party’s interest.” Tehran has insisted any deal to permanently end the war must also halt the parallel conflict in Lebanon, where Israel was pursuing a campaign against Hezbollah. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards called the attack a “warning” after Israel struck Beirut’s southern suburbs earlier in the day, threatening wider strikes in the event of repeated aggression.
On Sunday, Netanyahu’s office announced the army had “struck a militant command centre in Beirut’s Dahiyeh district, in response to Hezbollah’s fire towards Israeli territory.” The raid killed two people and wounded 20 more, Lebanon’s health ministry said. Israel had warned it would hit the area should Hezbollah attack northern Israel, with the Iran-backed group later confirming having launched missiles and drones at a pair of Israeli army barracks early Sunday. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s parliament speaker and its chief negotiator in talks with Washington, accused the United States of having given a “green light” for the Beirut attack, saying US and Israeli assets were now “legitimate targets.” The head of Iran’s military central command said Israel had “crossed all red lines” with the Beirut strike.
The attacks sent crude prices surging more than five percent as hopes dimmed on any imminent reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, the crucial waterway for oil and gas transit which Iran has blockaded. Iranians were also already feeling the strain of weeks of uncertainty. “I really have gone numb,” fitness trainer Elaheh from Ahvaz told AFP. “Daily life? It’s a joke. Everything is horrible. We only try to survive,” the 32-year-old added, pointing to rising prices. There were some weekend signs of ongoing diplomatic efforts, with Pakistan Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi visiting Tehran to deliver what he said was a “special letter” to Iran’s supreme leader, according to Iranian state television. He has since travelled back to Pakistan, an official Pakistani source said on Monday. Iran said that “diplomatic consultations are naturally continuing” with Pakistan to end the war with the US, even after fighting resumed with Israel.
© 2024 AFP
