Israel and Iran Exchange Fire Amid Fragile Ceasefire
Al Jazeera Staff
Iran launched missiles into northern Israel, and Israel retaliated with airstrikes on radar, an oil refinery, and military bases in Iran. The Houthi rebels also fired missiles into Israel and banned Israeli ships from the Red Sea. The exchange threatened to unravel a fragile ceasefire between Iran and the US and Israel.
Tensions between Israel and Iran escalated sharply after a series of back-and-forth strikes on Sunday and early Monday local time. Iran launched missiles into northern Israel; Israel responded by bombing radar sites, an oil refinery, and military bases on Iranian territory. Meanwhile, Iran-aligned Houthi rebels in Yemen claimed they had fired a volley of missiles into Israel and ordered a ban on Israeli ships passing through the Red Sea.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said early Monday that they had attacked Israel's Nevatim and Tel Nof air bases in retaliation for Israeli airstrikes on radar stations across Iran the night before. Shortly afterward, the Israeli military reported detecting a new salvo of missiles fired from Iran.
The Israeli military earlier stated that its forces had struck a number of targets at a petrochemical complex in Mahshahr, southwestern Iran, following strikes on other military targets in the country, in response to Iran having fired missiles into northern Israel (causing no casualties). Iranian media reported multiple explosions heard in the capital Tehran, as well as in Tabriz and Isfahan.
The conflict escalated Sunday when Iran fired a barrage of missiles into northern Israel — the first such launch since a ceasefire with the US and Israel was signed in April. Iran described it as retaliation for Israeli strikes on the southern suburbs of Beirut. Israel said it was targeting Hezbollah, the Iran-backed armed group. They were the first strikes on the Lebanese capital since Washington announced an extension of the ceasefire in Lebanon last week.
Iranian Central Command spokesman Ebrahim Zolfaghari accused the US of allowing Israel to strike Beirut. Tehran has long insisted that the ceasefire with Washington includes an end to fighting in Lebanon. Since the Iran-US ceasefire took effect, Israel has continued to strike Lebanon and in recent weeks has expanded its zone of occupation in southern Lebanon, citing the pursuit of Hezbollah fighters who still fire rockets and drones into northern Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not comment officially on the strikes, but Israeli media said he would convene a security cabinet meeting at 8 a.m. GMT.
The exchange came as Washington and Tehran were negotiating an extension of the ceasefire to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and cool energy prices that have soared since Iran blockaded the waterway after a joint US-Israeli strike on Iranian territory on Feb. 28. After the two sides exchanged fire Monday morning, international benchmark Brent crude jumped above $97 a barrel.
US President Donald Trump did not issue an official comment. US media reported that he spoke with Netanyahu on Sunday evening and urged the Israeli PM to avoid further military action. Israeli far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir wrote on X: “Tehran must burn.”
In an interview with the Financial Times, Trump said the recent outbreak would not affect talks with Iran: “I give the orders. I give all the orders. He doesn’t give orders,” Trump said, referring to Netanyahu. In a separate interview with Fox News, he said he had asked Netanyahu not to retaliate against Iran.
