Israel struck Beirut's southern suburbs Sunday in retaliation to a Hezbollah missile attack on northern Israel, Israeli officials said. Why it matters: Iran threatened last week to launch a missile attack against Israel if it attacks Beirut. Such a move could unravel U.S.–Iran negotiations and reignite the war. - Israel notified the Trump administration before the strike, a U.S. official and two other sources with knowledge tell Axios. Driving the news: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the strike answered Hezbollah missiles fired at northern Israel earlier Sunday, which the Israeli military says it intercepted. - Israeli officials said the Beirut strike targeted a Hezbollah command center in Dahieh — a Shia district…
President Trump on Monday pulled the brakes on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plan to bomb Hezbollah targets in Beirut after Iran threatened to abandon its negotiations with the U.S. over Israel's actions in Lebanon. - An Israeli official told Axios the planned strikes on Beirut would not be happening. Why it matters: Trump's decision to rein in Netanyahu was a clear signal that he doesn't want his key ally to get in the way of a deal with Iran . - Trump claimed on Monday after his call with Netanyahu that the Iran negotiations "are continuing, at a rapid pace." Driving the news: On Monday, Netanyahu issued a joint statement with Defense Minister Israel Katz threatening to bomb Hezbollah targets in the Dahieh District of…
The speaker of the Lebanese parliament, Nabih Berri, told the Trump administration on Sunday that Hezbollah is ready for a full and immediate ceasefire with Israel and pledged to guarantee its implementation, Berri's top adviser Ali Hamdan told Axios. Why it matters: The fighting in Lebanon is escalating and threatening to derail the chances of a deal to end the war in Iran, particularly with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu now threatening to strike Beirut. - Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Monday that Iran's negotiating team was suspending its exchange of messages with the U.S., through the mediators, in protest of Israel's actions in Lebanon. Zoom in: Berri is one of the most powerful Shia politicians in…