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Fire on hold, then threats
Israel and Iran traded strikes after a brief escalation that began Sunday, with Israel saying it launched two waves of airstrikes across Iran and Iran sending waves of ballistic missiles toward Israel.
“Israel and Iran appear to pause strikes after trading fire for the first time since April ceasefire Israel and Iran appear to pause strikes after trading fire for the first time since April ceasefire DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Israel and Iran appeared to back away from further strikes Monday, hours after they traded fire for the first time since the U”
In a recorded message after a phone call with President Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel’s “fire is on hold” against Iran, while Iran’s military said it was ceasing its attacks for now, according to remarks broadcast by Iranian state television.
The New York Times reported that Trump persuaded Netanyahu to halt further military strikes after tit-for-tat strikes briefly jeopardized a two-month cease-fire, and that the call came as Washington and Tehran were “within days of a breakthrough clearing the way for talks on a long-term nuclear deal.”
The Guardian described the pause in hostilities as following Trump telling Iran and Israel to stop “shooting,” while Netanyahu acknowledged the halt but vowed to respond “with force” to future attacks.
Even as operations were paused, CNN said Iran suspended its operations against Israel but warned it would resume them if Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon continued, keeping the standoff tied to the Lebanon front.
Competing narratives and conditions
Iranian officials presented the brief round as a victory while threatening renewed attacks, with Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf writing on X that Tehran had “broken the ceasefire equation and its violations.”
Ebrahim Azizi, head of the Iranian parliament’s National Security Committee, told CNN that “any miscalculation against Iran’s national security will be met with a harsh and regrettable response, much more severe than previous actions.”
On the U.S. side, Trump told Axios that he warned Netanyahu: “I said, ‘Bibi, you better be careful, or you will be on your own very soon,’” after Israel and Iran traded fire.
The Guardian reported that Trump posted on Truth Social that both Israel and Iran were “looking to do an immediate ceasefire” and that “final negotiations on peace” were under way.
CNN added that Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization said Iran’s airspace had returned to “normal conditions,” and that flight operations were expected to resume, as Israel prepared to lift restrictions on schools and workplaces at 6 a.m. local time.
What’s at stake next
The stakes described across the reporting centered on whether the fragile pause would hold long enough for talks, with CNN saying Tehran and Washington were testing a “very, very good deal” while Israel and Iran both warned they were ready to resume strikes.
AP reported that Israel and Iran appeared to back away from further strikes Monday, but both warned they were ready to launch retaliatory attacks if provoked, and it said officials had been unable to turn the April ceasefire into a deal to permanently end the conflict.
Energy and shipping risks were repeatedly tied to the Strait of Hormuz, with AP saying Iran maintained its stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz during the truce and that closure was the primary reason global fuel prices skyrocketed.
The New York Times said the latest Iranian attacks caused no casualties in Israel, while Iran’s emergency services said the strikes injured 15 people, one of whom remained hospitalized, according to a statement carried by state media.
In parallel, the reporting tied the next phase to Lebanon and the Red Sea, with CNN saying Iran’s airspace returned to “normal conditions” while also noting that Yemen’s Houthis fired a ballistic missile at central Israel and announced a naval blockade against Israel in the Red Sea.
