Melissa Clarke: Israel says Iran has launched three waves of missiles at the country's north in the first direct attack since the ceasefire was announced in early April. The Israel Defence Forces says Iran has made what it's described as a grave mistake and that it will continue to operate throughout Lebanon regardless of Iran's intervention. Meanwhile the White House says US President Donald Trump has been briefed about this latest escalation. Middle East correspondent Matthew Doran is in Jerusalem. He joined me a short time ago.
Matthew Doran: Mel, good morning. Over the course of the last hour or so we have seen warnings going off for at least three waves of Iranian missiles fired predominantly at northern Israel. And I think that kind of gives us a sense as to what has prompted these attacks from Iran, although of course we do need to monitor for any further information about that. But certainly in the course of today we have seen increasing fighting once again between the Israeli military in southern Lebanon and also the Iranian backed militant group Hezbollah that has of course culminated in an attack by the Israeli military on a claimed Hezbollah target in the Lebanese capital Beirut in the southern suburbs there, those stronghold suburbs around Dahir, which we've heard so much about through the course of this conflict. We did see earlier today at local time a warning from a senior Iranian politician saying that Israel would receive a painful response with regards to that attack on Dahir. And perhaps this is what we are seeing at the moment. So at least three waves of Iranian missiles to this point. We are continuing to see whether or not this is going to be an extended barrage throughout the course of the night. But again, it is focused on those northern communities. It hasn't started to set off warning sirens in the more densely populated parts of Israel around Jerusalem, around Tel Aviv there. The IDF for its part is saying that it has intercepted all of the missiles which have been launched at Israel that it has come across to this point.
Melissa Clarke: Talk me through the broader dynamic here because there is meant to be a ceasefire between the US and Israel and Iran, although there have been various issues that bring that into question, particularly given what's happening between Israel and Lebanon. But take me through what this latest salvo suggests about the state of this complex web of relationships.
Matthew Doran: A complex web is a very apt way of describing it. I think it's safe to say that a lot of people had said that the negotiations between the US and Iran through mediators Pakistan had stalled. They hadn't really presented much progress there, regardless of the fact that the US President Donald Trump had continued to insist that a deal was looming, that it was very close to being arrived at there. Donald Trump clearly talking up the prospects, even though no deal had eventuated. We know that Iran has been demanding an end to the fighting in Lebanon as a precondition for any deal it strikes with the US to end the broader war. And what will really determine what happens next is how Israel responds. If Israel decides to start attacking Iran, there is a real fear that this could be the return of all-out fighting. This region could once again be engulfed in broader fighting. The ceasefire, even though Donald Trump was saying as recently as Friday that it was a ceasefire in his view in this part of the world means a moderate amount of fighting as opposed to a total end to hostilities. It does appear that if this is the precursor to something broader, that ceasefire is in tatters as we go to air this morning.
Melissa Clarke: Matthew Doran in Jerusalem.