Iran halts military operations against Israel, issues fresh warning
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Tehran: Iran's main military command, the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, announced on Monday that the country's armed forces had halted their operations against Israel, according to the semi-official Fars news agency.
In a statement, the headquarters warned that any further Israeli "aggression and malicious acts," including attacks in southern Lebanon, would be met with a far more "severe and crushing" response.
The military command said Iran's recent operations were carried out in support of the Lebanese people following Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon and Beirut's southern suburb of Dahieh.
It also accused the United States of backing Israeli military actions and asserted that Israel should have learned a lesson from Iran's response.
Meanwhile, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian stressed that Tehran remained committed to both diplomacy and national defence.
"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," Pezeshkian wrote on X.
According to local media reports citing a senior Israeli official, Israel halted its strikes on Iran at the request of US President Donald Trump.
The official also said Israel had warned that it would strike Beirut's southern suburbs if Hezbollah continued attacks on Israeli towns.
The latest developments follow a series of military exchanges between Iran and Israel.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Sunday that its aerospace force launched ballistic missiles at the Ramat David Air Base in northern Israel in response to what it described as Israel's "widespread crimes" in southern Lebanon.
The IRGC continued its operations on Monday, targeting the Nevatim and Tel Nof air bases as well as certain industrial sites in Israel.
In retaliation, the Israeli military carried out airstrikes on several targets inside Iran, including a petrochemical company in the southwestern province of Khuzestan.
Earlier on Monday, an Iranian military source quoted by the Tasnim news agency said Iran was prepared for a long-term conflict with Israel and was ready to "deal blows" to US interests if necessary.
The announcement of a halt in operations comes amid heightened regional tensions following days of military exchanges between Iran and Israel.
With IANS inputs