Tehran (Somalia Today) — Israel and Iran exchanged missile and air strikes into Monday, in the first direct confrontation between the two enemies since a US-brokered ceasefire in April, testing President Donald Trump’s fragile push to end the region’s widening conflict.
The latest escalation began after Israel struck Beirut’s southern suburbs on Sunday, saying it had targeted a Hezbollah command centre after the Iran-backed Lebanese group fired into northern Israel.
Lebanon’s health ministry said the Israeli strike killed two people and wounded 20 others, including four women and four children.
Iran then fired several waves of missiles at Israel, saying it was responding to Israeli violations of ceasefire understandings in Lebanon.
Israel said its air defence systems intercepted incoming missiles, while US Ambassador Mike Huckabee said explosions could be heard overhead as Israeli systems engaged the barrage.
No major injuries were immediately reported in Israel.
“The Iranian regime made a serious mistake,” an Israeli military spokesman said, adding that Israel would continue operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Israel later said its air force struck military targets in central and western Iran. Israeli officials said the targets included air defence systems, weapons sites and missile launch infrastructure.
Israel also hit the Mahshahr petrochemical complex in southwest Iran, the first reported strike on an Iranian energy site since the April ceasefire.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had struck Israeli air bases in retaliation for Israeli attacks on Iranian radar and military sites.
Trump urges restraint
The exchanges came despite pressure from Trump, who has tried to keep fragile US-Iran talks alive and prevent the conflict from spreading further across the region.
Fox News reported that Trump urged Tehran to stop after its missile launches.
“What I would suggest to Iran: You’ve shot your missiles, that’s enough. Get back to the table and make a deal,” he said.
The Financial Times quoted Trump as saying he would determine the course of the war, not Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“I call all the shots,” Trump said, according to the newspaper. “He doesn’t call the shots.”
But Netanyahu faced strong pressure at home to respond to Iran’s missile barrage, with both allies and opposition figures calling for retaliation.
Israel said the Beirut strike followed Hezbollah fire into northern Israel. Netanyahu had previously warned that any direct attack on Israeli territory by Hezbollah would draw renewed Israeli strikes on Beirut.
The Israeli prime minister’s office did not immediately say whether the latest Beirut strike had been coordinated with Washington. Trump told US media the Israeli operation in Lebanon was not coordinated with his administration.
Lebanon flashpoint
The Beirut strike marked the most serious test of a partial truce announced last week by the United States.
Better active version: Under that arrangement, Israel would halt strikes on Beirut and its suburbs, while Hezbollah would stop firing into Israel and withdraw from areas near the border.
Hezbollah and Iran rejected any limited truce that did not include a full Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon.
Tehran has insisted that a broader peace deal with Washington must include an end to Israeli operations in Lebanon, where Hezbollah has been fighting Israel since March.
Iranian negotiator Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf accused Washington of enabling the Israeli strike on Beirut and said US and Israeli assets in the region had become legitimate targets.
“If it expands its attacks on that region or responds to Iran’s actions, it will begin with devastating strikes against the regime and its supporters,” Iran’s armed forces said, according to state media.
The conflict has also spread into the Gulf.
US Central Command said American forces shot down Iranian drones launched towards the Strait of Hormuz and struck Iranian coastal radar sites after what it called threats to regional maritime traffic.
The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most important routes for oil and gas shipments, and any disruption risks immediate pressure on energy markets.
Oil prices rose Monday as investors weighed the danger of a wider conflict involving Iran, Israel, Hezbollah, the United States and Yemen’s Huthi rebels.
Regional alarm
Israel said Monday it had also intercepted a ballistic missile launched from Yemen, likely by the Iran-backed Huthis, who control much of the country.
The Houthis later announced what they called a naval blockade against Israel in the Red Sea, reviving fears of renewed disruption to global shipping.
The group began attacking vessels in the Red Sea after the Gaza war erupted in 2023, forcing many commercial ships to reroute around Africa and prompting US-led strikes on Houthi positions in Yemen.
Israel suspended schools across the country on Monday, signalling that it expected the confrontation to continue. Its main international airport, however, remained open.
Diplomatic efforts continued despite the fighting.
Qatar said Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani spoke by phone Monday with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi to discuss mediation efforts between Washington and Tehran, as well as developments in Lebanon.
Qatar said it backed efforts to contain the escalation and reach a comprehensive agreement that would restore regional stability.
But with Israel striking inside Iran, Iran firing missiles at Israel and Hezbollah remaining active in Lebanon, the ceasefire framework built by Washington appeared increasingly fragile.
For Trump, who has repeatedly said a deal with Iran is close, the latest violence risks turning a narrow diplomatic opening into another regional war.
