The Iranian military said it will halt strikes against Israel following a day of hostilities that threatened to undo a tenuous ceasefire and reignite war in the Middle East.
The Monday announcement came hours after President Donald Trump said both sides were looking to reach a ceasefire and that final negotiations were underway.
In an announcement posted to Iranian state media, Iran’s central military headquarters said it had halted operations but emphasized that military action could resume if Israel continued its campaign in Lebanon.
The initial Iranian salvos Sunday night came in response to Israeli attacks on Hezbollah, an Iran-backed Islamist group based in Lebanon, which Iran insists was covered by a ceasefire agreement it reached in April with the U.S.
Iran fired multiple waves of missiles toward Israel, setting off air raid sirens and prompting what Israeli officials described as successful interceptions. Israel later said it struck military sites in western and central Iran. Meanwhile, Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen claimed an attack on Israel and threatened to target Israeli-linked shipping in the Red Sea.
In a statement on X, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian vowed his country “will not retreat in the face of any threat,” adding: “We have abandoned neither the field nor the negotiating table.”
The exchange marked the most serious challenge yet to the April ceasefire and came on the 100th day of the war, dubbed Operation Epic Fury. The conflict began in late February with joint American and Israeli strikes that killed top Iranian leaders.
Earlier, Trump had urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to retaliate against Iran and to allow for more diplomacy, according to Axios. Israel nevertheless carried out strikes on Iranian targets, and Axios reported that the U.S. had not signed off on the attacks.
In a telephone interview with the Financial Times, Trump said a diplomatic deal is still in the works and that Israel will have no choice but to accept it.
“I call all the shots,” Trump said. “(Netanyahu) doesn’t call the shots.”
Israeli officials have not reported any casualties following the Iranian attacks. Iranian state media reported that two missiles struck near a petrochemical plant but caused no casualties.
The exchange of fire between Iran and Israel, along with the Houthi attacks, threatened to escalate into a return to full combat after months of relative calm.
U.S. officials in recent weeks have expressed optimism about striking a conclusive peace deal with Iran, but intermittent Iranian skirmishes with American and Israeli forces have made the talks slow-going.
