Israel strikes Beirut despite truce; Iranian lawmaker threatens retaliation

Israel conducted airstrikes on the outskirts of Beirut on Sunday, marking the first attack on the Lebanese capital since the U.S. announced a truce plan last week. The strikes have cast new doubt on talks aimed at ending the wider conflict.

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Look at the sky of the occupied territories tonight.

Influential Iranian lawmaker Ebrahim Rezaei, spokesperson for parliament's national security committee, responded to the strikes by posting on X that Iran would deliver a "decisive and painful response." He also urged observers to "Look at the sky of the occupied territories tonight." This threat comes as Washington and Tehran show little progress in reaching a deal to end the war, which President Donald Trump launched in February with a campaign of air strikes alongside Israel against Iran.

Trump has repeatedly threatened to escalate military action unless an agreement is reached soon. "We're very close to a deal, or I'm going to blow the hell out of them," Trump told NBC News in an interview broadcast Sunday. The comments were made as Trump visited his New Jersey golf course.

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We're very close to a deal, or I'm going to blow the hell out of them.

Despite U.S. pressure on Israel to scale back its campaign in Lebanon to facilitate a peace deal, Israel has not fully halted its operations. The conflict, which began in March, has resulted in thousands of deaths and displaced hundreds of thousands. Hezbollah, not a party to the truce and slated for dismantling under its terms, has continued attacks and insists on a halt to fighting and Israeli withdrawal before disarming. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated Sunday's strike on Dahiyeh, a Hezbollah stronghold, was in response to Hezbollah firing projectiles toward Israel.

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The Israeli military had earlier said it had intercepted two projectile