Waves of missiles will continue around the clock for seven days
In the long and tangled history of Middle Eastern conflict, Sunday evening marked a new threshold: Iran's Revolutionary Guard fired waves of missiles directly into northern Israel, declaring it the opening salvo of a week-long campaign, in retaliation for Israeli strikes on Beirut that killed civilians in a Hezbollah stronghold. The action shattered a fragile pause that had held for months, drawing airspace closures across Iraq, Syria, and Iran itself, while the ceasefires and diplomatic negotiations painstakingly assembled in recent weeks now hang by a thread. What unfolds next will test whether restraint can still be summoned from leaders whose domestic pressures and military logic are pulling hard in the opposite direction.
- Iran's IRGC launched roughly twenty missiles into northern Israel on Sunday night, declaring it the start of seven consecutive days of around-the-clock strikes unless Israel halts its operations in Lebanon.
- Israel claimed full interception of all incoming missiles, but sources suggest at least three may have struck northern Israeli territory, casting doubt on official reassurances as hospitals moved patients underground.
- The strikes ignited a cascade of regional disruption — Iraq, Syria, and Iran closed their airspace, the Lebanon-Israel ceasefire appeared to be collapsing, and Iran's parliament speaker declared direct confrontation was now on the table.
- Trump urged Iran to stand down and return to negotiations, but his own contradictory signals — refusing to unfreeze assets, dismissing troop risk — undermined any credible diplomatic off-ramp.
- Israeli far-right officials demanded strikes on Tehran itself, while the human toll continued to climb: over 3,550 killed in Lebanon since March, two dead in Beirut, one killed in a West Bank shooting, and injuries reported as far away as Kuwait's airport.
On a Sunday evening in June, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps fired multiple waves of missiles into northern Israel — the first direct Iranian attack on Israeli soil since April. The strikes were framed by Tehran as retaliation for Israeli airstrikes on Beirut's Dahieh district earlier that day, which killed two people and wounded at least twenty, including women and children. The IRGC left no ambiguity about its intentions, declaring the attack "the beginning of a full week of continuous strikes" — missiles and drones, around the clock, for seven days, unless Israel ceased its operations in Lebanon.
Approximately twenty missiles were fired from Iranian territory, originating from the Karaj region and Khuzestan Province. Air raid sirens rang out across northern Israel. The Israeli Air Force claimed full interception, though sources indicated at least three missiles may have reached Israeli soil. Additional waves followed into the evening. Israeli officials warned Washington they intended to retaliate, and hospitals began moving patients to underground bunkers.
General Ali Abdollahi of Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya command declared that Israel had "crossed all red lines." Iran's Parliament Speaker went further, announcing Tehran would move from negotiations to "direct confrontation." An Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman told CNN that talks with the United States had become impossible given Washington's shifting and contradictory positions.
The regional architecture buckled quickly. Iraq, Syria, and Iran all closed their airspace. The ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, brokered only weeks earlier, appeared to be unravelling. Lebanon's health ministry reported more than 3,550 killed in Israeli strikes since March 2. A shooting near an Israeli settlement left one dead and five wounded, with Palestinian Islamic Jihad claiming responsibility. Drone strikes attributed to Iran caused injuries at Kuwait's airport, widening the conflict's footprint still further.
From Washington, Donald Trump urged restraint, telling Fox News: "You've shot your missiles, that's enough — get back to the table." But his administration's posture remained contradictory: no asset unfreezing even for a ceasefire, no acknowledgement of risk to American troops in the region. Meanwhile, Israeli far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir posted simply: "Tonight Tehran must burn."
The missiles had flown, and the question hanging over the region was whether they would fly again — and in how many directions. Every diplomatic thread assembled over recent months was now under strain, and the actors with the most power to pull back appeared, for the moment, least inclined to do so.
On a Sunday evening in June, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps unleashed waves of missiles across the border into northern Israel, marking the first direct Iranian attack on Israeli territory since April. The strikes came in retaliation for Israeli airstrikes that had hit Beirut's southern suburbs earlier that day, killing two people and wounding at least twenty others, including women and children. The IRGC made clear this was not a isolated incident. In a statement released as the missiles flew, the organization declared that what was unfolding represented "the beginning of a full week of continuous strikes"—a promise to sustain around-the-clock launches of missiles and drones for the next seven days unless Israel ceased its operations in Lebanon and the broader region.
The scale of the assault was immediate and visible. Sources reported approximately twenty missiles fired from Iranian territory, originating from locations including the Karaj region and Khuzestan Province. Air raid sirens wailed across Israel as the projectiles crossed the border. The Israeli Air Force responded by claiming it had intercepted all incoming missiles, though sources suggested at least three may have reached northern Israeli territory. By late evening, additional waves were detected and mostly intercepted. The Israeli military said it was "continuously detecting and intercepting threats," while simultaneously preparing for potential retaliation. Israeli officials warned Washington they intended to strike back, and hospitals in the country began moving to underground bunkers as a precaution.
The immediate trigger for Iran's action was Israel's bombing of Beirut's Dahieh district, a Hezbollah stronghold. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had justified those strikes as retaliation for Hezbollah firing toward Israeli territory. But Iran's military command saw the escalation differently. General Ali Abdollahi, head of the Khatam al-Anbiya command, stated that Israel had "crossed all red lines" by targeting southern Lebanon and the capital. The IRGC's statement was unambiguous: "Waves of missiles and drones will continue to be launched around the clock for the next seven days until the enemy is deterred and ceases its crimes. Any targeting of Iranian territory will be met with a devastating and overwhelming response beyond all expectation."
The regional fallout was swift. Iraq and Syria both closed their airspace. Iran sealed off its western airspace. The fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, brokered just weeks earlier, appeared to be collapsing. The broader Iran negotiations, which the Trump administration had been attempting to keep alive, now seemed in jeopardy. Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf declared that Tehran would not merely halt negotiations but would enter "direct confrontation with the enemy." An Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman told CNN that negotiating with the United States had become impossible because American officials kept changing their positions and contradicting one another.
The human toll was mounting across multiple fronts. In Lebanon, the health ministry reported that more than 3,550 people had been killed in Israeli strikes since March 2. Israel reported 26 of its soldiers and four civilians killed in the conflict with Hezbollah. On the night of the Iranian missile attack, a shooting incident near the Israeli settlement of Kokhav Ya'ir left one person dead and five wounded, with Palestinian Islamic Jihad claiming responsibility and Israeli far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir demanding execution for the perpetrators. Reports also indicated injuries from Iranian drone strikes on Kuwait's airport, adding another layer to the expanding conflict.
Donald Trump, watching from Washington, urged restraint. "What I would suggest to Iran: You've shot your missiles, that's enough. Get back to the table and make a deal," he told Fox News. Yet his administration's position remained contradictory. Trump said he would not unfreeze Iranian assets even if a ceasefire were reached, and he insisted there was no need to withdraw American troops from the region because he did not "consider them in danger." Israeli far-right officials, meanwhile, were calling for escalation. Ben-Gvir posted on social media: "Tonight Tehran must burn."
The moment crystallized the precariousness of the entire regional architecture. Multiple ceasefires—between Israel and Hezbollah, between Iran and the broader international community—were described by observers as being "on a knife-edge." The first direct Iranian missile attack on Israel in over two months had shattered the fragile pause that had held for weeks. What came next would depend on whether Trump could restrain Netanyahu, whether Iran would follow through on its seven-day threat, and whether the various actors could find any common ground. The missiles had flown. The question now was whether they would fly again.
Citas Notables
Waves of missiles and drones will continue to be launched around the clock for the next seven days until the enemy is deterred and ceases its crimes.— Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
What I would suggest to Iran: You've shot your missiles, that's enough. Get back to the table and make a deal.— Donald Trump
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why did Iran wait until now to respond directly? They had weeks to retaliate after the April attack.
The timing matters. Israel had been steadily escalating strikes on Hezbollah in Lebanon, and then on Sunday they hit Beirut itself—the capital, civilian areas. That crossed something Iran had been warning about. It wasn't just about one strike; it was about a pattern they felt they had to break.
But Israel says it intercepted all the missiles. If that's true, what was the point?
That's the contradiction at the heart of this. Israel claims perfect interception, but sources say at least three got through to northern territory. Even if Israel's claim is true, the point wasn't necessarily to cause damage—it was to demonstrate capability and intent. Iran is saying: we can reach you directly, and we will keep doing it.
The IRGC threatened seven days of continuous strikes. Do they mean that literally?
That's the question everyone's asking. It could be a negotiating posture—a way to pressure Israel and the US back to the table. Or it could be a genuine commitment. The problem is, after you make a threat like that, you have to be credible. Backing down looks weak.
Trump is telling Iran to stop and negotiate. Why would Iran listen to him?
They probably won't, at least not immediately. An Iranian official told CNN that negotiating with Trump's administration is impossible because different officials keep contradicting each other and changing the terms. From Tehran's perspective, the US isn't a reliable partner. They're not going to de-escalate just because Trump asks.
What happens to the Lebanon ceasefire now?
It's probably dead. The ceasefire was already fragile—there had been violations and clashes. But once Iran fires missiles directly at Israel, and Israeli officials start calling for Tehran to burn, the diplomatic space collapses. You can't negotiate a ceasefire in Lebanon while a broader Iran-Israel conflict is escalating.
Is this the beginning of a wider war?
It could be. But it could also be a controlled escalation—a way for both sides to demonstrate strength and then step back. The real danger is if either side feels it has to respond to save face. That's when these cycles spiral.