The ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran was tested after the Islamic regime fired missiles at Israel on Sunday — an incident President Trump has been briefed about, a U.S. official told The Hill’s broadcast partner NewsNation.
Iran launched ballistic missiles on northern Israel, with the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) posting on the social platform X that “Defensive systems are operating to intercept the threat.” The IDF later posted that sirens could be heard across Israel.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said one of the targets was the Ramat David Airbase in northern Israel, Axios reported, citing Iranian state media. The IRGC added that the missiles were launched as a warning if Israel were to continue its attacks on Lebanon.
“If it expands its attacks in that area, or responds to Iran’s action, it will face more forceful blows, and devastating attacks will be launched,” the IRGC stated, per Axios, adding that Israel has “crossed all red lines.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Arahgchi on Sunday afternoon shared on X an image of the Iranian and Lebanese flags side by side.
Officials in Tehran had warned of retaliation and a renewal of the conflict against Israel after it attacked suburbs in Beirut earlier on Sunday. The strikes come a few days after both Israel and Lebanon agreed to a ceasefire in U.S.-hosted talks, a deal Hezbollah rejected.
Two people were killed, and 20 were injured, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. The ministry also said Sunday that Israeli strikes have killed more than 3,600 people and injured more than 11,000 since March 2, according to the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation International.
Trump told Fox News earlier on Sunday that he was “not happy” about Israel’s strikes on Beirut. The president previously blasted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over strikes on Lebanon prior to the newest ceasefire, having called the U.S. ally “f—ing crazy” during a heated phone call last week.
The president told NBC News’s Kristen Welker in a fiery “Meet the Press” interview that Iran, despite being “strong” and “proud,” has “no choice” but to make an agreement to end the conflict with the U.S. and Israel.
After Iran fired at Israel, Trump told Axios that he will call Netanyahu and urge him not to retaliate against Tehran.
“I am going to call Bibi right now and tell him not to retaliate,” he told Barak Ravid. “Each of them had their fun. Israel had its strike, and Iran had its strike. We don’t need another one.”
An administration official told Ravid later Sunday that Trump and Netanyahu spoke. The Hill has reached out to the White House for comment.
But among Israeli officials, the response to the actions by Iran was swift and stark.
“Tonight Tehran must burn!” Itamar Ben-Gvir, the Israeli minister of national security, wrote on social media.
Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, whose coalition is challenging Netanyahu in the Israeli parliamentary elections in October, also wrote on X that Iran firing at Israel marks a “moment of truth: Is Israel a sovereign state capable of defending itself?”
Bennett added, “A weak or symbolic response will signal to our enemies that the blood of our citizens has been spilled with impunity; therefore, Israel must act with strength and effectiveness. In this matter, we all, every citizen of Israel, stand together.”
The U.S. and Iran have tentatively agreed to a memorandum of understanding that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz and extend the ceasefire for 60 days to hash out the elimination of Iran’s nuclear program. The president has rejected the rush to reach a long-term deal with Iran.
