TEHRAN — The Iranian military announced on Monday that it was halting its offensive operations against Israel after a day of reciprocal missile exchanges.
Iran’s top military command Khatam al-Anbiya central command said “much more severe and crushing measures than before will follow” if Israel or its allies carry out any further “aggression and hostile acts,” including in southern Lebanon.
The traded missile fire marked the most serious confrontation since a ceasefire took effect in April.
Israel and Iran exchanged strikes Sunday night and into Monday after Iran announced military operations in response to Israel’s air strikes on Beirut in Lebanon on Sunday.
Hezbollah said this morning that it had fired rockets at a group of Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon, where the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is carrying out ground operations in what it says is an attempt to stop Hezbollah firing rockets at northern Israel.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) claimed it launched a missile attack on a petrochemical plant in northern Israel, according to state media, after the Israeli military said it launched strikes on “several targets” at an Iranian petrochemical facility.
The IDF also said it had completed a large-scale strike on “strategic defence systems” in Iran, while the IRGC said it had targeted two Israeli air bases in Israel, according to Iranian media.
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei says the US bears responsibility for aggression from Israel and that consequences of escalating tensions will “also be on the US”.
He also said that the exchange of messages between Iran and the US “had not stopped”, but did not clarify whether the exchange of messages has been happening since yesterday or not.
Earlier today Donald Trump said Israel and Iran are looking to do an “immediate ceasefire” and that things should move quickly. He previously said that Iran and Israel must stop “shooting” immediately.
Source: Saudi Gazette