Iran and Israel have paused military operations against each other after a desperate plea from Donald Trump, but both sides have vowed to resume attacks if the fragile ceasefire is breached.
The halt came after the most serious exchange of fire between the two countries since April’s truce. Iran launched missiles at Israel on Sunday in retaliation for Israeli strikes on Beirut. Israel responded in the early hours of Monday by targeting what it said were military sites in the Islamic Republic, including a petrochemical complex in Mahshahr where an Israeli military official said chemicals for ballistic missiles were produced. Iran's Emergency Organisation chief, Jafar Miadfar, said the strikes injured 14 people in Mahshahr and one in Tehran. In Lebanon, the health ministry said five people had been killed.
“Iran and Israel paused military operations after Trump intervention, but both sides vowed to resume if ceasefire breached.”
US President Donald Trump intervened as the violence escalated. In a 5:30am post on Truth Social, he begged both sides to “stop shooting”. Hours later, after a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump wrote that both sides were “looking to do an immediate CEASEFIRE!”. The White House confirmed the call, and an Israeli official said Israel had halted its strikes at Trump’s request. Trump later told the BBC that Netanyahu had not defied him—the strikes “were already on their way”.
Netanyahu said on Monday that Israel was holding fire “at the moment”, but stressed that the struggle against Iran and Hezbollah was “not finished”. In a televised statement, he said he had told Trump that “Israel has a full right to self-defence, and we are exercising it as required”. Iran’s armed forces said they had stopped operations after delivering a “painful response” to Israel, but promised “more severe and crushing measures” if Israel carried out further strikes, including in Lebanon. A senior Israeli official said Israel would resume attacks on southern Beirut if Hezbollah attacked northern Israel.
The ceasefire remains on a hair-trigger. Fighting continues in southern Lebanon between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, from which 1.2 million people have fled. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it had ceased its operation after firing 30 missiles. In a further sign of regional escalation, the Houthis in Yemen launched their first missile against Israel since the April ceasefire.
Speaking on a telerally on Monday, Trump declared that the US would soon announce “total victory” over Iran in two weeks. But with both sides warning of retaliation for any breach, the peace looks anything but certain.