Iran threatens US interests and Israel after strike on Beirut

Iran’s chief negotiator warned on Sunday that an Israeli strike on south Beirut and the continuing US blockade of Iranian ports would trigger retaliation.

Israel struck Beirut’s southern suburbs without warning on Sunday, days after a ceasefire agreement in Washington went into effect and despite a US request not to attack Lebanon’s capital. Lebanon’s state-run national news agency said two people were killed and 11 wounded in a preliminary count.

Iran had warned that an attack on Beirut would renew full-scale war across the Middle East, even as Pakistan tries to restart talks between Tehran and Washington. Iran wants a deal to include ending the war in Lebanon.

Iran’s powerful parliamentary speaker hinted at retaliation. “The (US) naval blockade imposed against the Iranian people, together with Washington’s green light today to the Zionist regime, makes US and Israeli bases and assets in the region legitimate targets. Our armed forces, as always, are free to act,” Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf said on social media.

There was no immediate White House comment. A senior US official said “we were not surprised” by the attack in Beirut. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, would not say if the US had been given a heads-up on the strike.

The strike hit a residential building, damaging four of its seven floors. An unexploded weapon was found in the rubble.