Iran announces halt to military operations against Israel, warns against further attacks

Tehran: Iran's main military command, Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, announced on Monday the cessation of the Iranian armed forces' operations against Israel, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.

In a statement, the headquarters warned that any further Israeli "aggression and malicious acts," including in southern Lebanon, would trigger a much more "severe and crushing" response.

Iran's President on Monday said that they have neither abandoned the field nor the negotiating table.

"Our priority is national security and the peace of our people. We will defend the rights of the nation with authority and will not retreat in the face of any threat. Diplomacy and defence are the two wings of national power; we have neither abandoned the field nor the negotiating table. God willing, with unity and rationality, Iran will emerge triumphant from this trial as well," Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian wrote on X.

The headquarters said that the Iranian armed forces' actions were carried out in support of the Lebanese people following Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon and the Dahieh district south of the Lebanese capital, Beirut.

It accused the United States of backing Israeli operations and said that Israel should have learned its lesson from Iran's response.

Israel halted its strikes on Iran at the request of US President Donald Trump, local media reported, citing a senior Israeli official.

The official was also cited as saying that Israel warned it would strike Beirut's southern suburbs if Hezbollah continued attacks on Israeli towns. (IANS)

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