Iran carried out a large-scale missile attack directly targeting Israeli territory for the first time since the April cease-fire. It was an immediate retaliation for the Israeli military's strike on the southern outskirts of Beirut, Lebanon. As peace talks, which had barely kept a spark alive, faced collapse, U.S. President Donald Trump urged both Iran and Israel to show restraint in a bid to defuse tensions.
On the 7th (local time), according to combined reports from major outlets including Al Jazeera, the BBC, and the Washington Post (WP), Iran late that night fired multiple ballistic missiles toward northern Israel. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said the attack targeted the Ramat David Airbase, located southeast of Haifa. It warned, "The missile launch is not a one-off incident but the starting point of a continuous strike operation over the next seven days until Israel halts its acts of aggression."
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said all missiles launched from Iran were intercepted and there were no casualties. IDF Spokesperson Efi Defrin criticized, saying, "Iran has made a grave mistake," and added, "We are activating air defenses across the country in preparation for the possibility of further provocations."
The crisis began when Israel struck the heart of Lebanon's capital, Beirut. Israeli warplanes bombed two apartments in the Dahieh area of southern Beirut, killing at least two people and injuring more than 20. The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it struck a terror headquarters as a legitimate response to Hezbollah's armed provocations. Israel and the Lebanese government had renewed a cease-fire agreement in Washington only a few days earlier. But Israel carried out airstrikes again, undermining diplomatic efforts toward a lasting peace. Iran had repeatedly warned it would respond with full-scale war if Israel attacked the Lebanese capital.
As the talks teetered on the brink of collapse, President Trump pressed both Israel and Iran and put forward a mediation proposal. In an interview with Fox News, Trump addressed Iran, saying, "You fired the missiles. That's enough. Come back to the table and let's make a deal." According to Axios, Trump also called Prime Minister Netanyahu, telling him, "No one was hurt in the Iranian attack," and, "I hope Israel does not retaliate." He particularly warned against a military response, saying, "If Bibi (Netanyahu) strikes back, the war will go on like it has for the last 47 years, or the last 3,000 years."
Ross Harrison, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, said in an interview with Al Jazeera, "Both Israel and Iran are using Lebanon in their dealings with the United States," adding, "Both parties think this crisis is being calibrated to President Trump's decision-making process." The international community is closely watching the potential fallout of this conflict. Pakistan has dispatched a special envoy to Tehran, Iran's capital, to convey a message to restart peace talks, as behind-the-scenes mediation intensifies to safeguard Middle East peace.