Ceasefire shatters as Israel and Iran trade blows

Israel and Iran exchanged fire early Monday for the first time since the U.S. struck a ceasefire with Tehran two months ago, raising fresh fears of a wider Middle East war. Hours later, Iran’s military said it would stop offensive operations, but the renewed s

Early Monday, the first shots broke the rhythm of a fragile ceasefire. Hours after the U.S. struck that truce with Tehran two months ago, Iran’s military launched waves of attacks on Israel—and Israel responded with strikes on central and western Iran.

The exchange landed when diplomats were already trying to keep the April ceasefire from turning into just another temporary pause. Officials have been unable to turn that truce into a permanent deal, and the renewed hostilities now threaten to pull the region back toward a full-scale war.

The stakes are not only military. The original conflict—launched by the U.S. and Israel on Feb. 28 with strikes on Iran—has already shaken the global economy. driven energy prices up around the world. and made everyday basics. including food. more expensive. Even during the ceasefire. Iran maintained its stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz. a crucial passage for the world’s oil and natural gas. The potential closure of that route was the primary reason global fuel prices skyrocketed.

As Israel continued to strike Hezbollah, Iran’s ally in Lebanon, it also pushed deeper into that country. On Monday, the risk widened further when Yemen’s Houthi rebels—another Iranian ally—fired at Israel and warned they would target Israel-affiliated ships in the Red Sea.

U.S. President Donald Trump responded quickly online, writing: “Israel and Iran must immediately stop ‘shooting.’”

Soon after, Iran’s military joint command issued a warning of its own. It said that if Israel or its supporters carried out any further “aggression and hostile acts,” including in southern Lebanon, then “much more severe and crushing measures than before will follow.”

Diplomats race to salvage the truce

Diplomatic effort intensified Monday as regional officials urged Washington and both sides to step back. Two regional officials said concerted efforts were underway to salvage the ceasefire.

They said officials from Egypt. Saudi Arabia. Turkey. Pakistan and Qatar urged the Trump administration to pressure Israel to rein in its strikes on Iran and Beirut. They also urged Iranian officials to stop attacks on Israel. speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to reporters.

Trump said talks were ongoing for a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, though he gave no details.

Israel and Iran exchange fire

Iran launched waves of attacks on Israel on Monday, and Israel launched strikes on central and western Iran. The exchange was their first since the ceasefire.

Iranian state television reported explosions in Isfahan, Karaj, Tabriz and Tehran. Iran also closed the airspace around Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport after the Israeli attack.

Semiofficial Fars and Mehr news agencies said Israeli strikes hit a petrochemical factory in Mahshahr. They did not elaborate on any damage. Israel later confirmed the strike on the plant, saying it targeted sites that produce materials for ballistic missiles. It also said it targeted truck-based missile launchers.

Israel said its strikes were in response to an Iranian missile attack. Tehran had warned on Sunday it would retaliate after Israel struck Beirut’s southern suburbs without warning. When Israel struck back, Iran fired again.

Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said it had targeted two military bases in Israel.

In central Israel, explosions could be heard as air defenses tried to intercept incoming Iranian fire. Sirens also sounded across neighboring Jordan.

Iran blamed the United States for the escalation.

“No one believes that the Israeli regime would take any action without coordination with the United States. ” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said during a briefing with journalists in Tehran. The White House did not respond to messages about Israel’s strikes and whether they were done in coordination with the U.S.

A separate front: the Houthis pull the Red Sea closer

The Houthis, Iran-backed rebels in Yemen, claimed an attack on Israel on Monday. They said Israel-affiliated vessels would again be a target in the Red Sea.

The statement, broadcast on the Houthis’ al-Masirah satellite news channel, warned of danger not only in the Red Sea but also in the Gulf of Aden and the narrow Bab el-Mandeb Strait connecting them.

During the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. the Houthis made a similar threat. killed at least nine mariners. and sank four ships in more than 100 attacks. often targeting vessels with tangential or no ties to Israel. Those assaults upended shipping in the Red Sea, through which about $1 trillion of goods passed each year before the war.

One friction point runs through everything: the ceasefire and the leaders

Even as fighting resumed, the political air around the conflict looks less unified than it did when the war began. Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched the conflict in a closely coordinated attack. with Israeli officials boasting of unprecedented “shoulder to shoulder” cooperation throughout the conflict that reached 100 days on Monday.

But since the first strikes, the two men have moved in opposite directions, with tensions sometimes spilling into the open. Netanyahu appears to have defied Trump with the strike Sunday in Beirut and subsequent attacks in Iran. Trump has voiced displeasure with Israel. including belittling Netanyahu by declaring to the Financial Times that “I call all the shots.”.

The differences appear tied to domestic pressures. Netanyahu faces elections this fall and is under public pressure to strike back against ongoing Hezbollah attacks on northern Israel. He is also wary of appearing too subservient to Trump.

Trump, meanwhile, also faces elections—for Congress in November—and is eager to wrap up a war that has jolted the global economy and raised prices for consumers.

Civilians brace for what comes next

In Tehran, some residents described themselves as preparing for a long, grinding stretch. “I think Iran did a good thing…. I think this war is going to continue for a long time, and we won’t give up until victory,” said Reza Khorramgah, a 37-year-old Tehran resident.

People willing to speak on camera in Iran often make comments supporting its theocracy.

In Israel, schools were closed across the country, but many businesses remained open. In Tel Aviv, the streets were more subdued than a regular weekday, but people were still doing errands after a morning that sent them running for shelters multiple times.

Analytical paragraph: the pressure points line up

The renewed exchange comes after the April ceasefire failed to become a permanent end to the conflict. with Iran’s control of the Strait of Hormuz remaining a central lever over global energy flows. Israel’s continued strikes in Lebanon against Hezbollah. Iran’s response in Iran. and the Houthis’ warnings about attacks on Israel-affiliated ships combine into a regional web that is harder to contain once one front flares.

Where things stand now

Hours after the fighting resumed, Iran’s military said it would stop offensive operations. Still, its joint command warning made clear that any further “aggression and hostile acts,” including in southern Lebanon, could trigger “much more severe and crushing measures than before.”

With the April ceasefire still unable to harden into a deal and with fighting spreading through multiple allied networks, the risk of the war fully erupting again appears higher than at any point since the ceasefire.

This story has been updated to correct the day the Iran war started to Feb. 28.

Israel Iran ceasefire Strait of Hormuz Red Sea shipping Houthis Hezbollah energy prices Middle East war risk Donald Trump Benjamin Netanyahu