Tehran announced on Wednesday that it was ending missile strikes on Israel unless provoked again, warning of more serious consequences for further Israeli attacks. Israel and the US have promised retaliatory measures against Iran, which raises fears of an expansion of the conflict, Reuters reports, as quoted by News.bg.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Arakchi said his country's attacks had ended, but that Tehran would respond with a "stronger and more powerful" reaction.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the attacks, which included more than 180 ballistic missiles, calling them a "big mistake" by Iran and promised retaliatory strikes. According to Iranian sources, the missile strikes were aimed at Israeli military bases in response to Israeli attacks in Lebanon and Gaza.
The US has said it will work with Israel to ensure "severe consequences" for Iran. President Joe Biden described the Iranian attack as "ineffective" and emphasized Washington's full support for Israel.
Meanwhile, the UN and EU have called for an immediate ceasefire and an end to violence in the region.
Israel resumed its bombardment early Wednesday on the southern suburbs of Beirut — a stronghold of the Iran-backed Hezbollah group, with at least ten airstrikes targeting targets associated with the organization.
Large plumes of smoke rose from parts of the Lebanese capital. Israel has issued new evacuation orders for the area, which is now largely emptied after days of heavy strikes.
The General Staff of Iran's armed forces threatened in a statement carried by state media that any Israeli response would be met with "massive destruction" of Israeli infrastructure. Iran has also warned that it will attack the regional assets of any Israeli ally that engages in a possible retaliatory strike.
Fears that Iran and the United States could be drawn into a regional war have grown with escalating Israeli attacks on Lebanon over the past two weeks, including a ground operation there that began on Monday, and amid ongoing hostilities in Gaza for more than a year.
On Tuesday, Iranian forces used hypersonic missiles "Fatah" for the first time, with 90% of them successfully hitting targets in Israel, the Revolutionary Guards said.
Israeli army spokesman Admiral Daniel Hagari said central and southern Israel had suffered limited strikes. A video released by the military shows a school in the central city of Ghadera that was severely damaged by an Iranian missile.
The US Navy fired more than 10 anti-aircraft interceptor missiles against Iranian missiles aimed at Israel, the Pentagon said. Britain said its forces played a role in "attempting to prevent further escalation in the Middle East," without giving details.