Israel launches retaliatory strikes on Iran after Tehran fires missiles at Israel
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Israel launched airstrikes early Monday against central and western Iran in response to missiles from Tehran, an attack that threatened to return the Middle East to a regional war.
Iranian state television reported explosions heard in Isfahan, Tabriz and Tehran, without immediate explanation. A witness in Tehran described hearing at least one large explosion somewhere west of the country’s capital.
Iran closed the airstrip around Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport, the country’s main airport, after the Israeli attack.
Iranian officials did not provide details about what was hit, or any information on the damage. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said Israel had used air-launched ballistic missiles in its attack on Monday morning, without elaborating.
The Israeli military at dawn in Iran issued a brief statement as the strikes began: “In the past short time, the Israeli Air Force has attacked the weapons of the Iranian terrorist regime in western and central Iran.” It didn’t spread.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia sounded missile warnings on Monday morning in an area home to an air base that hosts US forces. Saudi media reported on the alert surrounding its governorate of Al Kharj, which is home to the Prince Sultan Air Base. This warning came after Israel attacked Iran. Saudi Arabia recently said that the danger of missiles in the area has passed, without elaborating.
The White House did not respond to messages about the strikes and whether they were carried out in cooperation with the United States.
For days, talks between Iran and the US on a fragile ceasefire were stalled by fighting between Israel and the Lebanese Shiite Hezbollah militia. Israel is now taking us south of Lebanon and has moved into areas of the country it has not had in 200 years, leading to its fear and expansion of its campaign.
On Sunday, Israel began airstrikes in the area south of Beirut. Iran retaliated with its own strike on Israel, which led to Israel attacking Iran on Monday morning.
Israel’s military said it had targeted and intercepted missiles launched from Iran on Sunday, the first escalation of its kind since the operation began in April. The attack follows an Israeli strike on the Lebanese capital, Beirut, and comes as a ‘warning’ of further strikes if Israeli violence continues, according to Iranian officials.
US President Donald Trump previously told a Fox News Channel reporter that he wants the Iranians to stop firing missiles and return to the negotiating table. He also said that the Israeli strikes in Lebanon earlier Sunday were not coordinated with the US and “I am not happy about it.”
A US official said Trump called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to urge him not to immediately retaliate against Iran’s missile attack. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the secret call, said Trump believes he made Netanyahu wait.
Trump “asked Bibi to step down for now,” the official said. The official did not provide further details of the call, and there was no immediate comment from Netanyahu’s office.
This attack furthers the efforts to reach a permanent cessation of hostilities between Iran and the United States.
The exchange raised the possibility of a return to heavy fighting and difficult mediation efforts to end the war, which began when the US and Israel attacked Iran in Feb. 28.
