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Ceasefire, then strikes
Israel and Iran traded strikes for the first time since a ceasefire with Tehran began two months ago, with the exchange rattling efforts to turn the April pause into a deal.
U.S. President Donald Trump insisted negotiations were continuing and urged both sides to “immediately stop 'shooting,'” while Reuters reported Iran had announced the end of military operations against Israel but warned of bigger attacks if it continued to strike Lebanon.
The Israel Defense Forces said it had “identified that missiles were launched from Iran toward the territory of the State of Israel a short while ago,” and later announced it had “struck military targets belonging to the Iranian terror regime in western and central Iran a short while ago.”
Iran’s parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said the U.S. “naval blockade and violation of agreements regarding Lebanon” amounted to violations of the ceasefire, and Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said the ceasefire “was conditional on a cease-fire on all fronts.”
Warnings and negotiations
In a phone call with the BBC, Trump told Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu “we have to use sense,” and said, “We're very close to signing a very powerful deal, a very good deal”.
The BBC said Iran threatened a “severe” response if the Israel Defense Forces continues striking southern Lebanon, with the Israeli military saying evacuation orders were due to “Hezbollah’s violation of the ceasefire agreement.”
CNN reported that Iran suspended its operations against Israel but warned it would resume them if Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon continue, while a top Iranian official told CNN Tehran has “no problem” pushing forward with peace talks so long as Iran is confident the U.S. side is honest and sincere.
CNN also said Trump told Axios that he warned Netanyahu, “Bibi, you better be careful, or you will be on your own very soon,” and that Trump said Iran’s officials called him asking him to tell Israel not to do any more attacks.
What’s at risk next
The Associated Press said Israel and Iran appeared to back away from further strikes Monday but both warned they were ready to launch retaliatory attacks if provoked, raising concerns the Middle East could plunge back into a full-scale war.
AP said the renewed hostilities came as officials struggled to turn the April ceasefire into a deal to permanently end the conflict, and it noted that during the truce Iran maintained its stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz while the U.S. continued to impose a blockade on Iranian ports.
AP also reported that the U.S. military fired on and disabled a Palau-flagged oil tanker, the M/T Marivex, in the Gulf of Oman after the ship attempted to breach the blockade, and that officials in India said the tanker’s crew of 24 Indian sailors were all reported safe.
In parallel, the BBC said flights within Iran resumed after airspace returned to “normal conditions,” while the Israel Defense Forces issued evacuation orders in southern Lebanon tied to “Hezbollah’s violation of the ceasefire agreement,” underscoring how quickly the ceasefire’s limits were being tested.
