TASS
IN BRIEF: New attacks, ban on Israeli shipping in Red Sea: Middle East developments
MOSCOW, June 8. /TASS/. The Houthis from the Yemeni rebel movement Ansar Allah have announced a complete ban on the passage of Israeli ships through the waters of the Red Sea, according to a statement released by the armed forces formed by the militants.
On the evening of June 7, Iran, in response to Israeli strikes on Lebanon, fired missiles at northern areas of the Jewish state.
Israeli Air Force aircraft carried out strikes on Iran overnight, the military press service stated.
TASS has compiled the main developments in the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East.
Israeli attack on Lebanon
The Israeli army will continue striking targets of the Shiite group Hezbollah across Lebanon, said Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin.
Israeli forces struck a target in Dahieh, a southern suburb of Beirut, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reported.
The IDF command issued a warning to residents of the city of Tyre in southern Lebanon about upcoming airstrikes and ordered them to urgently evacuate to the northern bank of the Zahrani River.
Israeli troops are also carrying out clearing operations in the outskirts of the city of Nabatieh in southern Lebanon, Al Hadath TV reported on Sunday.
According to the channel, the operation in the outskirts of the city, located 75 km from Beirut, began after intense airstrikes and artillery preparation.
Israeli forces are using robots to detect explosives and sabotage groups.
Iran’s response to strikes on Lebanon
On the evening of June 7, Iran fired missiles at northern areas of the Jewish state.
Iranian authorities had previously warned that they would respond to Israel if strikes on the Lebanese capital continued.
The Iranian attack on Israel on Sunday evening served only as a warning to force the Jewish state to stop strikes on Beirut, said Iranian Supreme Leader adviser Mohsen Rezaei.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) press service said the targets of the strikes included the Israeli Ramat David Air Base, used to launch attacks on Lebanon.
Iran’s armed forces fired 11 ballistic missiles at Israeli territory overnight, Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter said.
On Monday, Israel came under another missile attack from Iran.
Air raid sirens were activated in several areas of central Israel.
At the same time, alerts were triggered across multiple areas in northern Israel, according to information from the country’s warning system.
Israeli strikes on Iranian oil facilities
Israeli Air Force aircraft carried out strikes on Iran overnight, the IDF press service said.
The targets were military facilities in the western and central parts of the Islamic Republic.
The Iranian broadcaster Al Alam reported that facilities at a petrochemical plant in Khuzestan Province were damaged as a result of the Israeli strikes.
The Iranian news agency Fars confirmed the strike and reported "partial damage."
No further details on the consequences were released.
Earlier, the Israeli army reported strikes on a petrochemical complex in Bandar-e Mahshahr, Iran.
According to a statement by the Organization of the Special Economic Petrochemical Zone of Bandar-e Mahshahr, employees of the daytime shift at the Karoon refinery were evacuated due to the airstrike.
Red Sea situation
Houthis from the Yemeni rebel movement Ansar Allah carried out a missile strike on targets in the Tel Aviv area, according to a statement released by the armed forces formed by the militants.
The statement said the missiles "hit their targets."
The Houthis also announced a "complete ban on maritime navigation for the Israeli enemy in the Red Sea."
It stated that from the moment of publication, all Israeli ships would be considered military targets by their armed forces.
US reaction
The US did not approve Israel’s strike on a target of the Shiite organization Hezbollah in the suburbs of Beirut, Axios journalist Barak Ravid said on X, citing a senior US administration official.
US President Donald Trump said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would have to accept any deal reached between Washington and Tehran.
Trump noted that, in his view, the current escalation between Israel and Iran should not affect the negotiation process between Washington and Tehran.
He also suggested that, if negotiations between Washington and Tehran fail, the US side could deploy special forces on the territory of the Islamic Republic to carry out military tasks.
In an interview with Channel 12 on Sunday, Trump said he wanted to discourage Netanyahu from striking Iran in response to missile attacks on Israeli territory.
