Iran and Israel say they have halted strikes on each other for now

[DUBAI/JERUSALEM] Iran and Israel said on Monday they had halted attacks on each other following an appeal from US President Donald Trump that they immediately “stop ‘shooting’”, though Teheran said it would resume strikes if Israel continued to hit Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The wave of attacks over the past 24 hours marked the most direct confrontation between Iran and Israel since an April ceasefire, threatening to wreck Washington’s efforts to reach an agreement with Teheran to end their more than three-month war.

Oil prices - which had risen by as much as 5 per cent after the flurry of attacks - later pared gains when Iran‘s military said its first wave of strikes on Israel was over. The dollar retreated from its highest level in nearly two months.

A source briefed on the matter told Reuters that Israel had also decided to halt its attacks on Iran.

Israel struck Iranian targets after Tehran fired missiles towards Israeli territory late on Sunday. Tehran said its strikes were retaliation for Israeli attacks on strongholds of Iran-backed Hezbollah on the outskirts of Beirut.

Israel hit a petrochemical plant in southwestern Iran that it said was used to produce ballistic missiles. Iran‘s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it retaliated with a strike aimed at a similar Israeli plant in the city of Haifa.

‘Painful response’

Iran‘s military headquarters said it had “delivered a painful response” against Israel for its attacks on Lebanon, including Sunday’s strikes on the outskirts of Beirut.

“Accordingly, the operations of the armed forces are hereby declared halted; however, it is emphasised that if the aggressions and acts of mischief continue — including in southern Lebanon — much more severe and crushing actions than before will follow.”

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The exchange has complicated Trump’s push to end the war, launched by the US and Israel on Feb 28, and underscores how easily the conflict could widen into a broader regional confrontation.

A ceasefire announced on April 8 had paused all-out warfare but flare-ups in the Gulf have continued.

In one of several posts on social media, Trump said Israel and Iran both wanted “an immediate CEASEFIRE! Final negotiations on ‘Peace’ are proceeding, subject to ignorance or stupidity getting in its way.”

He added that a US blockade of Iranian ports would remain in place till a final deal was reached.

An Israeli official said Trump had spoken with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday.

Earlier, an Israeli military official said Israel was prepared to continue operations for “as long as it takes,” and confirmed strikes on newly rebuilt Iranian air defence systems in addition to the petrochemical target.

Iranian officials struck a similarly defiant tone. A military source quoted by the semi-official Tasnim news agency said Teheran was ready for a prolonged conflict and could renew strikes against US interests in the region.

‘Extreme suspicion’

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said Teheran was exchanging messages with Washington in an atmosphere of “extreme suspicion”. Israel’s actions in Lebanon, whether carried out with US knowledge and consent or not, were aimed at sabotaging diplomacy, he added.

In Teheran, Iranian media reported explosions on Monday, with air defences shooting down a drone over the capital. There were no immediate reports of casualties or major damage.

Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis pledged in a statement to stop Israel’s maritime navigation in the Red Sea, and said they had also fired missiles at Israel.

The Houthis have so far largely stayed out of the regional war. They control territory at the mouth of the Red Sea, increasingly important as an alternative route for millions of barrels per day of Middle East oil otherwise blocked by Iran‘s grip on the Strait of Hormuz.

The Israeli military official said Iran had fired “close to 30 ballistic missiles” at Israel since Sunday evening, and the Houthis a further two missiles.

Israel said it struck targets at the Mahshahr petrochemical complex that were used to produce and export raw materials for Iran‘s missile programme. A provincial official told Iranian media parts of the plant were damaged.

Fifteen people were injured across Iran in the latest Israeli attacks - 14 of them in Mahshahr County - but no deaths have been reported, Iran‘s National Emergency Organisation said.

The Israeli ambulance service said no casualties are reported from the missile launches toward Israel.

Lebanese-Israeli talks to resume

Israel has never halted its Lebanon campaign, which has killed thousands of people, saying it should be treated separately from any Iran ceasefire. Hezbollah has also continued its attacks.

Tehran has long said any peace deal with the US would depend on an end to fighting in Lebanon, which Israel invaded in March in pursuit of Hezbollah fighters who fired across the border in solidarity with Teheran.

The US ambassador to Lebanon, Michel Issa, said on Monday that Lebanese-Israeli negotiations were scheduled to resume in Washington.

Teheran has continued to block most shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, which carried a fifth of the world’s crude oil and liquefied natural gas before the war. Washington has imposed its own blockade of Iranian ports.

Trump has said any peace deal must prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. Iran‘s demands include the lifting of international sanctions, the release of billions of dollars in frozen assets and recognition of its sway over the strait. REUTERS