Iran Unsettled After Beirut Strike as Israel Braces for Possible Retaliation

After Israeli strikes in Beirut’s Dahiya district and Iranian threats to “punish Israel,” Iranian state media reported on Sunday that Tehran still has not reached a final decision on an agreement. An Iranian lawmaker who opposes the deal warned that signing the memorandum of understanding would turn Tehran into an “American colony.”

At the same time, Israel raised its alert level and prepared for the possibility of incoming fire from Iran. The Home Front Command ordered restrictions on gatherings to no more than 5,000 people, and large shows in central Israel will be canceled. The IDF said Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir was holding continuous assessments with all relevant commanders and that the military was preparing for possible fire at Israel in the coming hours.

The Iranian news agency Fars quoted a source close to the talks as saying Iran passed a message to the United States through a Qatari mediator before the Dahiya strike. The source said nothing has yet been finalized and added that Iran’s basic condition is that all of its points be fully taken into account. “Even if all of Iran’s views are implemented, no agreement will be signed at the time Trump announces it,” the source said.

President Donald Trump said the Israeli strike “should not have happened,” especially on a day when the sides were close to a peace deal with Iran. He said the Israeli response was “very small and insignificant,” that no one was hurt, and that it should not derail the process. Trump said the U.S. is “very close to a deal that will bring peace to the region, including Lebanon,” and called for all sides to pull back and avoid any more attacks.

The New York Times also examined Trump’s handling of the Iran confrontation, comparing it with Russia’s war in Ukraine. In a piece titled “War of Stalemates,” it said Trump and Vladimir Putin misread the wars they entered and are relying on negotiations to secure what they could not achieve militarily. Former White House official Fiona Hill said both presidents launched wars with limited understanding of their adversaries and, like Putin, Trump had no plan for what would happen next.