Iran Threatens Retaliation After Israeli Strike in Beirut’s Dahiyeh

Iranian officials issued sharp threats on Sunday after an Israeli airstrike in Beirut’s Dahiyeh district, saying the attack would not go unanswered. A senior assistant to the commander of Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, the joint command body of the armed forces, said that “the Israeli crimes in Dahiyeh will not remain without response.”

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s parliament, said the “Zionist aggression on Dahiyeh” showed that “America has no willingness or ability to fulfill its commitments.” He added that if commitments cannot be carried out, “there can be no talk about the continuation of the path.” Ibrahim Rezaei, spokesman for the parliament’s national security and foreign affairs committee, warned that “there must be no miscalculation,” arguing that even if an agreement is desired, the way to reach it is by restraining “the Zionist regime.” He said that if this “mad dog” is not restrained, it will “bite us in the legs before the ink on the agreement dries.”

The Israeli strike came after three drones launched from Lebanon exploded in western Galilee earlier in the day, without causing casualties. The target in Dahiyeh was a Hezbollah headquarters used to manage terror plans, and early Lebanese reports said one person was killed and four were wounded. The killed man was identified as the commander of Hezbollah’s communications unit.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said the strike was carried out under their direction in response to Hezbollah fire toward Israel. The IDF said the targeted headquarters had been used to advance terror plots against Israeli civilians and troops operating in southern Lebanon, and that Hezbollah had earlier launched aerial targets toward Israel. The army said it would keep acting to remove any threat, in line with political leadership orders.

The Dahiyeh strike came a week after a previous Israeli air attack there, which was followed by a day of fighting with Iran. After a new ceasefire with Iran was reached, Netanyahu said Iran and Hezbollah had tried to impose “a new and intolerable formula” on Israel. Katz said Beirut’s Dahiyeh would be treated like northern Israeli communities, warning that any attack on the north would trigger a strike on Dahiyeh.

Against the backdrop of talks involving a Qatari mediation delegation in Tehran and President Donald Trump’s claim that a U.S.-Iran agreement would be signed later on Sunday, Israeli officials voiced concern that the emerging deal does not address Iran’s nuclear program, ballistic missiles, or support for proxy groups such as Hezbollah and the Houthis. A senior Iranian source told Reuters that the United States had agreed to let Iran reduce its enriched uranium stockpile.