New Iran and Israel strikes threaten ceasefire; Trump tells both sides to stop ‘shooting’

BEIRUT — Israel and Iran exchanged fire on Monday, nearly derailing a fragile two-month ceasefire that had largely halted fighting in the United States and Israel’s offensive on Iran.

Tit-for-tat attacks between the two sides threaten to expand the scope of the conflict that has already killed and injured thousands, displaced more than a million people and shaken economies around the world; even while dragging the United States into a war from which there is no exit.

“Israel and Iran need to stop the ‘fire’ immediately,” President Trump wrote on social media platform Truth Social early Monday.

He later wrote: “Israel and Iran, both sides want an immediate ceasefire!”

“The final negotiations regarding ‘Peace’ continue depending on the ignorance or stupidity that gets in the way. Until the ‘Final Agreement’ is reached, the Blockade will remain in force and at full strength. Things must move forward quickly.”

The latest tensions come after Israel attacked the suburbs of Lebanon’s capital Beirut on Sunday in what it said was a targeted attack on Hezbollah, a paramilitary group and political party backed by Iran.

Iran has threatened in recent days to respond to any Israeli action against Lebanon’s capital by stipulating a ceasefire agreement with Israel and the United States stipulating an end to hostilities on all fronts, including Lebanon. Israel refuses to link both battlefields and insists it is free to attack Hezbollah.

A series of US-brokered ceasefires between the Lebanese and Israeli governments – but without Hezbollah’s involvement – ​​failed to stop most of the fighting; While Israeli warplanes attacked a wide swath of southern Lebanon, Hezbollah launched drones and missiles into northern Israel. However, the Lebanese government refused to get involved in Iran’s negotiations with the United States.

On Sunday night, Iran’s threats were realized with a wave of ballistic missiles that caused no injuries and were the first wave Tehran has fired at Israel since a ceasefire took effect in April. The Iranian military said the volley was a warning. However, Israel said it would retaliate.

President Trump initially downplayed Iran’s attack on Sunday, saying: Interview with Financial Times Iran’s barrage “would have had no impact on the agreement.”

“We’ll see how it ends. But they [the Iranian strikes on Israel] “They were attacks without any kicks,” he said.

“The deal may or may not be made to his advantage, but it will have no effect on him.”

Trump also said this Axios news site He was to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to prevent Iran from retaliating for its bombing.

He also told the Financial Times that Netanyahu would have no choice but to accept the deal Trump negotiated with Iran.

“I make the decisions. I make all the decisions. [Netanyahu] he doesn’t call the shots,” Trump said.

But early Monday morning, dozens of Israeli warplanes were striking western and central Iran. They struck a petrochemical complex in Mahshahr in southwestern Iran and carried out extensive attacks on “strategic defense systems” according to Israeli military statements; observers said this was the beginning of a broader attack. Residents of Tehran, Isfahan, Tabriz and Shiraz reported strong explosions.

The Israeli army said in a statement that they expected to fight with Iran for a few days, but that they were ready for a long-term operation. He said the attacks on Iran were carried out by Israel alone, but that they were carried out in “full coordination” with US Central Command, which helped stop Iranian missiles launched at Israel.

But that distinction didn’t seem to matter to Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei, who told a news conference Monday that the United States was directly responsible for the latest ceasefire violations and that Israel’s action “cannot be considered separately from the United States.”

“No one believes that the Israeli regime will take any action without coordination with the United States,” he said.

“The United States bears responsibility for the Israeli regime’s aggression and will also be responsible for the consequences of escalation.”

Iran launched additional barrages throughout Monday targeting Israeli air bases in Nevatim and Tel Nof and a petrochemical facility in Haifa, according to a statement from Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. The report stated that Israel has embarked on “a dangerous game by targeting its civil and oil infrastructure, a game whose global economic consequences will depend on America and which will now include all regional energy targets.”

The renewed hostilities also saw Yemen’s Houthis, who receive support from Iran and Hezbollah and are part of a regional network of Iran-backed groups, engage in conflict with a pair of ballistic missiles launched at Israel. The Israeli military said one of the missiles was captured; the latter lagged behind Israel.

Houthi spokesman Brig. General Yahya Sarea confirmed the attack in a televised statement on Monday and said Israeli maritime navigation in the Red Sea would be targeted.

During the Gaza war, the Houthis attacked commercial ships in the Red Sea (including ships unconnected with Israel) in an attempt to pressure Israel to lift the blockade of the region.

However, unlike Hezbollah, which attacked Israel on March 2, three days after the US and Israel’s operation against Iran, the Houthis had refrained from helping their allies until Monday.

Their involvement raises the possibility of a new squeeze on energy markets already beleaguered by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Since the US-Israeli attack, the Red Sea has served as the main alternative channel for energy supplies, especially from Saudi Arabia. If the Houthis close the Bab El Mandeb Strait, it will almost completely paralyze trade flows.

Oil prices rose rapidly after the stock markets and Brent Crude Oil increased by 5% to $98 per barrel.