Iran and its allies signalled a new phase of the Middle East war on Monday after coming to blows with Israel over the conflict in Lebanon.
One hundred days since the war began, Iran and Israel exchanged their heaviest fire in weeks, before pulling back and returning to trading threats.
As mediators pleaded for calm, Yemen's Houthi rebels returned to the fray by announcing strikes on Israel and a blockade of “enemy ships” in the Red Sea. Any attacks there could worsen the economic impact of the war.
US President Donald Trump said peace talks remained on track, saying negotiations were proceeding and that “things should move quickly”. But Iran's attacks appeared designed to reshape the balance of the war, deterring Israel from evading the ceasefire and bending the region to its will.
“These are decisive hours. If the United States wants to stop the escalation in the region, it must also restrain its ally in Lebanon,” a source close to Hezbollah told The National.
The Iranian strikes on Israel, the first since early April, fulfilled a threat to intervene if the Israeli army resumed attacks on Beirut. “Tehran has ushered in a new chapter in its defence policy,” Sadeq Larijani, chairman of Iran’s powerful Expediency Council, said on Monday.
The Khatam Al Anbiya Central Headquarters, Iran's main operational command, later said it was halting the strikes.
“The cessation of armed operations is announced; but it is emphasised that if the aggressions and evils continue, including in southern Lebanon, much more severe and crushing measures will be on the way,” the official Irna news agency quoted it as saying.
The announcement came as the Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom reported that Israel and the US had conveyed a message to Tehran: there would be no further strikes if Iran did not fire again.
But there was no complete standstill in the region, as US forces fired on an oil tanker to enforce their blockade of Iranian ports, and strikes continued in Lebanon.
The attempt to restore calm came after one of the most intense direct exchanges yet between the two countries as a two-month ceasefire unravelled and cast doubt on US hopes for a comprehensive agreement.
The escalation came just days before the Fifa World Cup kicks off in the US, Mexico and Canada. It is a major international event that US President Donald Trump is unlikely to want overshadowed by a widening conflict in the Middle East.
“Both sides, Israel and Iran, are looking to do an immediate ceasefire!” Mr Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Final negotiations on 'Peace' are proceeding, subject to ignorance or stupidity getting in its way ... Things should move quickly.”
The renewed fighting comes as the US and Iran pursue back-channel talks aimed at reaching an agreement, with the US seeking curbs on Iran's nuclear and missile programmes and Iran pushing for sanctions relief and security guarantees. Deep mistrust between the two sides has so far hampered progress.
On Monday morning, the Israeli army said it was striking Iranian military sites in western and central Iran. Later, it said strikes involving “dozens of fighter jets” dismantled air defences that Iran had restored after previous Israeli attacks.
An explosion was heard in western Tehran, a semi-official news agency said, before another state-linked outlet reported the downing of an unmanned “US-Zionist enemy” aircraft. Sirens sounded across Israel as Iran launched successive waves of missiles, though air defence systems intercepted many, and authorities later said civilians could leave shelters.
Iran said the attacks were retaliation for earlier Israeli strikes on Hezbollah-linked sites in Beirut's southern suburbs. That flashpoint now sits at the centre of Iran's ceasefire warning and has intensified concerns that indirect hostilities in Lebanon are spilling into direct conflict between Israel and Iran.
Israel said the strikes on southern Beirut were aimed at “Hezbollah terror infrastructure”. Iran quickly linked its response to events in Lebanon, warning it would not tolerate breaches of ceasefire arrangements.
Energy markets reacted swiftly, with oil prices rising by more than 5 per cent amid fears of disruption to regional supply routes.
US President
Israel went ahead with retaliatory strikes despite Mr Trump having pressed it to avoid escalation. He reportedly told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he had no choice but to accept whatever deal the US negotiates with Iran.
“He won’t have any choice,” the US President told the Financial Times. “I call the shots. I call the shots. He doesn’t call the shots.”
Yechiel Leiter, Israel's ambassador to the US, said Israel was attacking missile infrastructure after what he described as Iranian aggression, while officials in Iran vowed further retaliation if Israeli strikes continue.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said the US bears direct responsibility for recent ceasefire violations, arguing that Israel's actions cannot be separated from US policy. “Our exchange of messages with the Americans has been in an atmosphere of distrust, and the events of the past day and night will fuel this distrust,” he said. He also warned: “We will take action whenever we deem necessary to defend the country's security.”
Israel struck more than 20 targets in Iran. Damage was reported to parts of a petrochemical facility in Mahshahr; the Israeli military confirmed it had struck the site, saying Iran used it to produce and export raw materials for weapons production, including components critical to ballistic missile development.
The confrontation widened further when Yemen's Houthi rebels issued a warning of maritime escalation.
Military spokesman Yahya Al Saree said the Iran-backed group would blockade navigation for “enemy ships” in the Red Sea. “We declare a complete ban on enemy navigation in the Red Sea and we consider any Zionist movements to be military targets for our forces.”
Any blockade of the Bab Al Mandeb Strait, which leads into the Red Sea, could multiply the impact of Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which has already caused turmoil in energy markets.
A Yemeni political source close to the Houthis said that “this measure will continue even after the ceasefire” announced by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. “This step represents an escalation against Israel in response to what it is carrying out in terms of killing and destruction, whether in Gaza or southern Lebanon,” they said.
A second Yemeni source said the blockade was “intended to increase pressure” to lift the blockade on Iran and on other fronts. “All operations are co-ordinated; indeed, all possible scenarios had been prepared for in advance,” they said.
Israeli military officials also indicated the campaign could continue for several days, with Army Radio reporting preparations for a possible large-scale reserve mobilisation – a step that typically indicates sustained operations rather than a short-term exchange of strikes.
Diplomacy struggles
Diplomatic efforts continued even as fighting intensified. Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman held talks with Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan and separately with the Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, focusing on de-escalation and mediation.
The confrontation has unfolded amid renewed US-led diplomatic efforts that have struggled to gain traction. Mr Trump has alternated between urging restraint and putting pressure on Iran, while acknowledging that Iran retains significant missile and drone capabilities despite earlier US strikes.
The latest round of violence is one of the most direct exchanges yet between Israel and Iran, involving several regional actors including Hezbollah and the Houthis, and raising concerns that a broader conflict could now be taking shape across the Middle East.
The involvement of all four – Israel, Iran, Hezbollah and the Houthis – risks turning the crisis into a sustained multi-front conflict, while strikes on energy and military infrastructure could further destabilise shipping lanes, global markets, and the diplomatic efforts now hanging by a thread.
