Israel strikes Iran after missile fire, Tehran retaliates

Israel strikes – Israel carried out airstrikes early Monday targeting central and western Iran after missile fire from Tehran, with Iran closing airspace around Imam Khomeini International Airport and reports of explosions across several cities. The back-and-forth comes amid s

Early Monday, Israel began airstrikes aimed at central and western Iran, framing the attacks as a response to missile fire from Tehran that officials said threatened to pull the wider Middle East back into a regional war.

Iranian state television reported explosions heard in Isfahan, Karaj, Tabriz and Tehran, without offering immediate details. A witness in Tehran said at least one large blast was heard somewhere west of the capital. Iran then closed airspace around Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport, the country’s main airfield, after the Israeli attack.

Iranian officials did not provide specifics about what was hit or any damage information. The Iranian paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said Israel used air-launched ballistic missiles in its attack on Monday morning, again without elaborating.

Israel’s military issued a brief statement at the start of the strikes, saying: “A short while ago, the Israeli Air Force struck military targets belonging to the Iranian terror regime in western and central Iran.” It did not provide further detail.

In Washington. the White House did not respond to messages seeking clarity on whether the strikes were coordinated with the United States. That uncertainty landed on top of a separate diplomatic tension: for days. negotiations between Iran and the United States over a fragile ceasefire had been stalled by fighting between Israel and the Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah. Israel occupies southern Lebanon and. according to the report. had moved into areas of Lebanon it hadn’t held in a quarter century—an expansion that has raised fears of further widening the conflict.

The escalation fed on its own momentum. On Sunday, Israel launched airstrikes in Beirut’s southern suburbs. Iran retaliated with its own strike on Israel, which led to Monday morning’s attack by Israel on Iran.

President Donald Trump had urged restraint just hours earlier. He told a Fox News Channel reporter that he wanted the Iranians to stop firing missiles and return to the negotiating table. Trump also said Israel’s strikes in Lebanon earlier Sunday were not coordinated with the United States. and that he was “not happy about it.”.

A senior U.S. official later said Trump called Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to urge him not to retaliate immediately after the Iranian missile attack. The official. speaking on condition of anonymity to describe a private phone call. said Trump believed he convinced Netanyahu to wait. The official said. “Trump ‘got Bibi to hold off for the time being. ’” adding that there was no immediate comment from Netanyahu’s office.

Even with that attempt at delay. the physical reality on the ground moved quickly: Iran shut down flights around its main airport and warned residents through reports of explosions across multiple cities. while Israel described its actions as a limited military response aimed at “military targets” in western and central Iran. With negotiations already frayed by the fighting elsewhere. the timing left the region bracing for whether the next exchange remains contained—or spreads again.

Israel Iran airstrikes missile fire Imam Khomeini International Airport Tehran Lebanon Hezbollah ceasefire talks Trump Netanyahu