Trump Criticizes Beirut Strike as Israel Braces for Response

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps declared that its response would arrive “before dawn tomorrow.”

By United with Israel Staff

Israel raised its level of preparedness Sunday evening after a wave of threats from senior Iranian officials and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps following the IDF’s strike on a Hezbollah command center in Beirut’s Dahiyah district.

The strike, carried out in response to repeated Hezbollah drone and rocket attacks on northern Israel, prompted immediate warnings from Tehran that retaliation is coming.

According to Iranian media, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps declared that its response would arrive “before dawn tomorrow.”

Major General Mohammad-Jafar Asadi, deputy commander of Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, issued a similar warning.

“Without a doubt, these crimes will not go unanswered,” Asadi told the Iranian news agency Defa-e Moqaddas.

Additional threats came from Ebrahim Rezaei, spokesman for the Iranian parliament’s Foreign Affairs and National Security Committee, who warned that any future agreement with the United States would require first “restraining the Zionist regime.”

“We must not miscalculate the situation,” Rezaei said. “Even if you want to reach an agreement or any kind of understanding, the path to that goes through restraining the Zionist regime. If we do not control this mad dog, it will bite us on the leg before the ink on any agreement or understanding has even dried.”

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf also appeared to tie the Beirut strike to ongoing negotiations with Washington, suggesting that any agreement would be meaningless if Israel is not restrained.

“If you are unable to restrain and control this mad dog, there is no point talking about continuing down this path,” Ghalibaf wrote in a social media post.

The threats come as President Donald Trump is pushing to finalize a U.S.-Iran agreement that he has repeatedly said could be signed within days.

Following the Beirut strike, however, Trump publicly criticized Israel’s action, arguing that it risked undermining a diplomatic breakthrough.

“This morning’s attack on Beirut should not have happened,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “We are very close to a Deal that will bring peace to the region, including to Lebanon.”

While reaffirming Israel’s right to defend itself, Trump described the Hezbollah attack that triggered the Israeli response as “very small and meaningless” and urged all sides to stand down.

Despite the American pressure, Israeli officials appear to be taking Iran’s threats seriously.

Following a security assessment, the Home Front Command announced changes to civilian defense guidelines nationwide. Beginning Sunday evening and lasting through Monday night, public gatherings across most of the country will be limited to 5,000 people.

The IDF said the restrictions were implemented following an updated situational assessment and that additional changes could be introduced if necessary.

The new guidelines come less than a week after Iran launched ballistic missiles toward northern Israel following a previous Israeli strike in Beirut, raising concerns that Tehran could once again choose to respond directly.

The latest developments have created a rapidly escalating standoff, with Iran threatening retaliation, Israel raising its level of preparedness, and the Trump administration simultaneously attempting to prevent a broader regional confrontation while finalizing what could become a landmark agreement with Tehran.

For now, Israeli defense officials are preparing for the possibility that Iran may attempt to follow through on its threats in the coming hours.