Overview
- Iran launched ballistic missiles toward northern Israel, which Israeli air defenses intercepted for the most part, in a move Tehran described as retaliation for an Israeli raid on Dahiyeh in Beirut.
- Israel carried out overnight airstrikes on sites in western and central Iran, including strikes reported near the petrochemical port of Mahshahr, with Iranian state media reporting explosions in several cities.
- U.S. officials said Washington urged Israeli restraint, denied authorizing the Beirut raid, put forces on alert and conducted limited CENTCOM strikes earlier to destroy Iranian radars and drones that threatened shipping.
- The exchanges strain fragile negotiations between Tehran and the U.S. over roughly $24 billion in frozen Iranian assets that Iran links to progress in talks and raise the risk of wider proxy attacks on Gulf shipping and regional bases.
- The flare‑up began with Israeli operations in southern Lebanon against Hezbollah and has reopened core issues left unresolved by the April ceasefire, increasing civilian harm and the chance of a broader regional spillover.