President Donald Trump pressed Israel and Iran to "immediately stop 'shooting'" on Monday, and within the hour Iran's military said it was halting further attacks "for now," claiming Israel had "learned a lesson." An Israeli official said Israel agreed to stop striking Iran, though its military would continue operating in Lebanon.
The pullback came after Israel and Iran traded fire on the war's 100th day, putting an already fragile truce in serious jeopardy and threatening to reignite an all-out regional war. It was the first direct exchange between the two since a U.S.-brokered ceasefire took hold in early April.
Trump moved aggressively to contain the spiral. He and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke by phone twice in under 24 hours, according to two Israeli sources. Earlier, Trump told Axios he would call Netanyahu directly and tell him not to retaliate, saying each side had "had their fun." Hours later, Israel struck anyway — a move that, in the words of one U.S. senator, undercut the president's public effort to head off escalation.
How it unraveled. The flare-up began Sunday when Israel hit a Beirut suburb it considers a Hezbollah stronghold, after continued strikes in northern Israel, and Iran responded by firing ballistic missiles, treating both fronts as one. Early Monday, dozens of Israeli warplanes struck Iran, focusing largely on air defenses Tehran had been rebuilding after earlier fighting, and also hit a large petrochemical complex in Mahshahr in the southwest. Iranian media reported explosions in Tehran, Karaj, Isfahan, Tabriz and Kermanshah.
Iran's Revolutionary Guard said its counterstrike, dubbed Operation Nasr ("Victory"), targeted two Israeli airbases, identified by Iranian accounts as Nevatim and Tel Nof. In all, Iran launched 24 ballistic missiles from Sunday night, all of which were intercepted or struck open areas, with no reported casualties in Israel. Fragments were recovered in northern Israel and near the West Bank city of Jericho.
A widening front. Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi rebels announced a ban on Israeli shipping in the Red Sea, a key global trade lane, and fired missiles at Israel — a fresh threat from a group that had largely stayed out of the war. Saudi Arabia sounded missile alerts near a base hosting U.S. forces, Iraq closed its airspace for 72 hours before reopening, and Syria temporarily shut Damascus airport. Separately, Israeli strikes on Gaza on Monday killed at least five people, including an 8-year-old boy.
Markets react. Brent crude climbed more than 5% in early U.S. hours on the renewed fighting, with Brent rising $4.40 to $97.49 a barrel and U.S. crude up $3.95 to $94.49. The European Union approved its first freedom-of-navigation sanctions against Iranian entities tied to disruption of the Strait of Hormuz.
Where things stand. Even as it paused, Iran warned it would launch harsher attacks if Israel engaged in further "hostile acts." Its joint command singled out southern Lebanon as a red line. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tehran had not abandoned negotiations with Washington, while Trump said a U.S. blockade would remain "in full force" until a final deal is reached.
The truce remains precarious. Trump claimed both sides were pursuing an "immediate" ceasefire and that "final negotiations" on peace were underway, but the dynamic echoes a pattern from earlier in the conflict, when pauses repeatedly frayed within hours. The broader 2026 Iran war began Feb. 28 with U.S. and Israeli strikes that killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and set off waves of Iranian retaliation, and has since left thousands dead and millions displaced across the region.
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