The US president earlier said both sides “had their fun” and should stop, after Tehran fired missiles at Israel in response to Sunday’s strikes on Lebanon
Iran has accused the US of bearing “direct responsibility” for Israeli ceasefire violations after the IDF launched intensive airstrikes on what it said were Hezbollah targets in Lebanon on Sunday. Tehran responded with a wave of retaliatory strikes on Israel, triggering fresh Israeli attacks on targets across the Islamic Republic.
The Israeli operation came despite US President Donald Trump reportedly urging Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to escalate further. Trump told Axios the strikes on Beirut had not been coordinated with Washington and insisted both sides “had their fun” and should stop. He later posted an uncharacteristically brief message on Truth Social: “Israel and Iran must immediately stop shooting.”
Israel, however, pressed ahead with strikes, with explosions reported in Tehran, Isfahan, Tabriz, and Karaj, as well as at the Karun Petrochemical Company in the Mahshahr Special Economic Zone, one of Iran’s main oil and petrochemical hubs.
The renewed hostilities sent oil prices surging toward $100 a barrel. As of 09:30 GMT, Brent crude was up 4.2% at $96.90, while US benchmark WTI had gained 4.6% to $94.70.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Israel’s actions “cannot be viewed in isolation” from US policy, describing Washington as “directly responsible” for ceasefire breaches. He said Tehran and Pakistani mediators had repeatedly stressed that Lebanon was “part and parcel of the ceasefire agreement.”
Here are the key developments:
- The Israeli military says the air force has completed an “extensive” wave of strikes on Iranian air defense systems, with dozens of fighter jets targeting radar installations and surface-to-air missile launchers.
- Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) says it launched a missile strike on petrochemical facilities in Haifa in retaliation for the IDF’s Mahshahr attack. The IRGC warned that attacks on energy infrastructure could expand the conflict to energy targets across the region.
- Iranian military spokesman Ebrahim Zolfaghari claimed the IDF had used prohibited weapons, including white phosphorus, during strikes on southern Lebanon and the outskirts of Beirut.
- Yemen’s Houthis have reentered the conflict, saying they are reinstating a ban on Israeli maritime navigation in the Red Sea and warning that Israel-linked vessels would once again be targeted.
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