With the war in Iran reaching its 100-day mark and negotiations remaining at a standstill , tensions in the region have risen dramatically after the IDF launched an attack on the suburbs of Beirut, triggering a retaliation from Tehran that threatens to also involve American targets in the region . The escalation erupted late in the evening when Iran launched a series of missile attacks, triggering air raid sirens for the first time since the ceasefire. Sirens also sounded in several Gulf countries.

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir threatened that "Tehran must burn," as Israeli fighter jets scrambled to counterattack Iran. Donald Trump, immediately informed of the escalation, attempted to douse the flames by speaking on Fox: "You've launched your missiles, that's enough," he warned the Iranians, urging Tehran to return to the negotiating table and reach an agreement. "With the attack on Beirut, Israel has crossed all red lines," the Iranian military command stated, claiming the operation in response to the Israeli raid on the southern outskirts of Beirut that hit apartments in two buildings. Until now, the area south of the capital, including neighborhoods considered strongholds of the Iranian-backed group, had been relatively spared , having been hit only twice since mid-April.

Trump claimed to have asked the Israeli prime minister to carry out "more surgical" strikes against Hezbollah, but shortly after the raid, Saudi television reported that Israel had informed the United States. "We will give a firm and painful response to the Zionist regime's attack on Dahiyeh. These rabid dogs must be punished and put back in their place. Tonight, look at the skies over the occupied territories," Iranian MP Ebrahim Rezaei attacked on X, and so it was. Meanwhile, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf had also threatened Washington. Trump, in an interview recorded Friday in Wisconsin, assured that he was "very close" to an agreement with Tehran. On the most critical point, however, the immediate release of $24 billion in frozen Iranian assets, Trump appears unwilling to meet the IRGC's demands.

"This will happen at a later stage," the tycoon declared. "If they behave, if they do a good job, then we will start discussing it," he added. Tehran has made the release of $24 billion in frozen assets a condition of an agreement, half of which will be released upon signing the agreement. According to Reuters, Washington is also considering redirecting Iranian resources to Gulf allies under attack by Iran . Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has reportedly assigned a team to assess the costs of the damage already inflicted but has not specified which assets these are: a move Tehran has already dismissed as impudent, stating that its assets "are not Washington's war booty nor a payment fund for its allies."

Trump also returned to the topic of the possible elimination of Tehran's enriched uranium, reiterating his readiness to work with Iran to recover and destroy it. "If we reach an agreement and we're on good terms, we'll take the uranium away and destroy it, whether it's there or elsewhere," the US president declared. "We'll leave with them or without them. But we won't let them shoot us, okay?" he added, warning that "if we don't reach an agreement, then we'll eliminate the facilities very forcefully. And we'll leave before we do that, so our security will still be guaranteed."

(Unioneonline)

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