Israel and Iran trade strikes as Trump tells them to stop ‘shooting’

Maj.-Gen. (Ret’d) Denis Thompson says these are the first ballistic missiles launched by Iran after April’s negotiated ceasefire.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Israel and Iran traded fire Monday in their first attacks since the U.S. struck a ceasefire with Tehran two months ago. The Iranian military said hours later that it was halting offensive operations as the renewed hostilities threatened to drag the Middle East back into a full-scale war.

The U.S. told Iran there would be no more attacks by Israel if Iran halted its missile strikes, and that Israel has agreed to halt attacks for now, according to a regional official who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

The White House and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Since the U.S. and Israel began striking Iran on Feb. 28, the war has shaken the global economy, driven energy prices up around the world and made many basics, including food, more expensive. Officials have been unable to turn the April ceasefire into a deal to permanently end the conflict.

During the truce, Iran has maintained its stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz -- a crucial passage for the world’s oil and natural gas whose closure was the primary reason global fuel prices skyrocketed. Israel has continued to strike Hezbollah, Iran’s ally in Lebanon, and pushed deeper into that country. And on Monday, Yemen’s Houthi rebels, another Iranian ally, fired at Israel and warned they would target Israel-affiliated ships in the Red Sea.

With little apparent progress in peace talks, Israel and Iran exchanging fire, and the Houthis joining the fight, the risk of the war fully erupting again appeared higher than at any point since the ceasefire.

In the wake of the new attacks, U.S. President Donald Trump wrote online: “Israel and Iran must immediately stop `shooting.”'

Shortly after, the Iranian military’s joint command issued its statement. It said that if Israel or its supporters carried out any further “aggression and hostile acts,” including in southern Lebanon, then “much more severe and crushing measures than before will follow.”

Diplomats are racing to save the ceasefire

Earlier, two regional officials said concerted diplomatic efforts were underway Monday to salvage the ceasefire.

Officials from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, Pakistan and Qatar have urged the Trump administration to pressure Israel to rein in its strikes on Iran and Beirut. They have also urged Iranian officials to stop attacks on Israel, they said. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to reporters.

Trump said talks were ongoing for a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, though he gave no details.

• READ MORE: Israel kills 11 in Lebanon, a day after Trump said Israel and Hezbollah will de-escalate

Israel and Iran traded strikes

Iran launched waves of attacks on Israel on Monday, and Israel launched strikes on central and western Iran. It was their first exchange of fire since the ceasefire.

Iranian state television reported the sound of explosions being heard in Isfahan, Karaj, Tabriz and Tehran, without immediately elaborating. Iran closed the airspace around Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport after the Israeli attack.

The semiofficial Fars and Mehr news agencies said Israeli strikes hit a petrochemical factory in the city of Mahshahr in Khuzestan province. They did not elaborate on any damage. The Israeli military later confirmed the strike on the petrochemical plant and also said it targeted truck-based missile launchers.

Israel said its strikes were in response to an Iranian missile attack. Tehran had warned on Sunday it would retaliate after Israel struck Beirut’s southern suburbs without warning. When Israel struck back, Iran fired again.

Explosions could be heard in central Israel as air defences sought to intercept incoming Iranian fire. Sirens also sounded across neighbouring Jordan.

Iran blamed the United States for the escalation.

“No one believes that the Israeli regime would take any action without co-ordination with the United States,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told journalists in Tehran.

The White House did not immediately respond to messages about Israel’s strikes.

Tensions appear to be growing between Trump and Netanyahu

Trump and Netanyahu launched the war in a closely coordinated attack, with Israeli officials proudly boasting of unprecedented “shoulder to shoulder” co-operation throughout the conflict, which reached 100 days on Monday.

But since the first strikes, the two men have moved in opposite directions, with tensions sometimes spilling out into the open. Netanyahu appears to have openly defied Trump with the strike Sunday in Beirut and subsequent attacks in Iran. Trump has voiced his displeasure with Israel, including belittling Netanyahu by declaring to the Financial Times that “I call all the shots.”

The differences between the two appear to be rooted in each leader’s domestic considerations. Netanyahu faces elections this fall and is under public pressure to strike back against ongoing Hezbollah attacks on northern Israel. He also is wary of appearing too subservient to Trump.

The U.S. president, meanwhile, also faces elections -- for Congress in November -- and is eager to wrap up a war that has jolted the global economy and raised prices for consumers.

The Houthis claimed an attack on Israel

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels claimed an attack on Israel on Monday and said Israel-affiliated vessels would again be a target in the Red Sea, putting the waterway, as well as the Gulf of Aden and the narrow Bab el-Mandeb Strait connecting them, in danger. The statement from Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree was broadcast on the Houthis’ al-Masirah satellite news channel.

The Houthis made a similar threat during the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip and killed at least nine mariners and sank four ships in over 100 attacks, often targeting vessels with tangential or no ties to Israel.

The assaults upended shipping in the Red Sea, through which about $1 trillion of goods passed each year before the war.

Civilians on both sides brace for further conflict

Some Tehran residents said they were bracing for a potentially prolonged conflict.

“I think Iran did a good thing.... I think this war is going to continue for a long time, and we won’t give up until victory,” said Reza Khorramgah, a 37-year-old Tehran resident.

People willing to speak on camera in Iran often make comments supporting its theocracy.

In Israel, schools were closed across the country, but many businesses remained open. In Tel Aviv, the streets were more subdued than a regular weekday, but many people were still doing errands after a morning that sent them running for shelters multiple times.

• READ MORE: U.S. says ‘slight progress’ in Iran talks as Pakistan renews efforts to mediate a peace deal

By Jon Gambrell

Associated Press writers Matthew Lee in Washington; Michelle L. Price in Bridgewater, New Jersey; Elena Becatoros in Athens, Greece; and Samy Magdy in Cairo contributed to this report.