Iran and Israel traded waves of attacks on Monday as an uneasy two-month truce that had suspended the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran appeared to have broken down.
Iranian ballistic missiles sent sirens wailing in central and southern Israel and booms from air defenses could be heard overhead. Israel’s air force bombarded sites in western and southern Iran, including a petrochemical factory, the Israeli military said.
This was the first exchange of strikes between Israel and Iran since April, when President Trump called a halt to the American-Israeli campaign that began in late February to allow for negotiations on a peace deal with Tehran. Weeks of talks have failed to end the war, and the renewed fighting has again brought the Middle East to the edge of a wider, full-blown conflict.
Mr. Trump has publicly called for calm, but for now the conflict has no clear off-ramp. Iranians and Israelis alike had braced for yet another round of fighting after events put the two countries on a collision course.
On Sunday afternoon, Israel struck the southern outskirts of Beirut, the Lebanese capital, as part of its war with Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militia. Iran had pledged to retaliate against such strikes.
Hours later, Iran acted on its threats, launching a wave of ballistic missiles at Israel. The Israeli military said it intercepted at least some and vowed that it was ready to respond.
Mr. Trump had earlier appeared keen to avoid an escalation, telling the Axios news site on Sunday that he planned to call Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel to tell him not to respond to the first barrage of Iranian missiles. The president also told the Financial Times that Mr. Netanyahu had no choice but to accept a deal with Iran.
“I call all the shots,” the newspaper quoted Mr. Trump as saying. “He doesn’t call the shots.”
Early Monday, the Israeli military said it had hit military sites in Iran. It later added that the Israeli air force had attacked a major petrochemical complex in southern Iran. The Israeli strikes were followed by two more waves of Iranian missile launches, the Israeli military said.
Here’s what else to know:
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Energy markets: The price of oil jumped after the exchange of strikes between Israel and Iran. Brent crude, the global benchmark for oil, rose nearly 5 percent to about $98 a barrel. Read more ›
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Diplomacy: Canada and Britain both expressed concern about the conflict resuming, and called for de-escalation. The prime minister of Qatar, which has mediated between the United States and Iran, spoke with Abbas Araghchi, the Iranian foreign minister, on Monday to discuss mediation efforts.
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Yemen: The Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen on Monday announced a naval blockade against Israel in the Red Sea. It was unclear what that threat will mean in practice. But earlier Houthi attacks in the Red Sea snarled global shipping and prompted a bombing campaign by the United States and its allies.
