Live updates: Iran declares end to attacks against Israel after first exchange since ceasefire

No Israeli prime minister can refrain from retaliating against an attack from Iran, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told President Donald Trump in a phone call this morning, an Israeli official told NBC News.

“You can’t normalize 11 ballistic missiles shooting at Israel, you just can’t,” the official, who was not authorized to speak publicly, said after confirming that Trump had asked his Israeli counterpart not to retaliate in a call yesterday.

During their conversation this morning, Netanyahu told the president Israel will not continue firing at Iran because Iran has stopped firing missiles at Israel.

However, if Iran resumes its attack, Netanyahu said Israel will retaliate, the official said.

U.S. Central Command said it disabled a Palau-flagged oil tanker today in the Gulf of Oman after it tried to sail to an Iranian port and violate the ongoing American-mandated blockade.

The M/T Marivex was disabled by an aircraft that fired "precision munition" at the tanker as it sailed toward Iran, CENTCOM said in a post on X, adding that the ship was empty.

CENTCOM said it has now disabled seven vessels for violating the blockade. The army has also redirected over 130 ships and allowed 42 ships carrying humanitarian aid to pass since the blockade went into effect on April 13.

Four Lebanese Red Cross paramedics were injured today in an attack on Tyre in southern Lebanon.

The attack happened in front of the Lebanese Red Cross center in Tyre, according to a statement from the organization.

The paramedics sustained minor and moderate injuries from shattered glass and were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment, the organization said.

It comes amid a continued exchange of fire between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group.

Residents have been urged to leave the Zuqaq al-Mufdi neighborhood in Lebanon’s southern city of Tyre by the Israel Defense Forces’ Arabic spokesperson.

“The IDF does not intend to harm you,” Avichai Adraee said in a post on X. “For your safety, you must immediately evacuate your homes and move north of the Zahrani River.”

Anyone who is near operatives, facilities or weapons belonging to the Hezbollah militant group “is putting their life at risk,” he added.

People sunbathe on the beach in Tyre, Lebanon, as smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike in the village of Deir Qanoun Ras al-Ain today. Kawnat Haju / AFP via Getty Images

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that “the fire on this front has been contained” but warned that if Iran attacks again, “we will respond with force.”

In a news briefing, Netanyahu said Israel would “continue to destroy” Hezbollah’s “terrorist infrastructure in the security zone” in southern Lebanon. Iran has said that if Israel does this, it will resume its own strikes against Israel.

He did not directly address how Israeli forces were planning to proceed in Beirut, but did say that he had told the Israel Defense Forces to target Lebanon's capital.

"After Hezbollah fired into Israeli territory, I instructed the IDF to strike terrorist targets in Beirut and eliminate Hezbollah operatives there," he said.

The Houthis said they conducted a missile attack on the Jaffa region of Israel today.

The group shared a video of missiles it says struck "sensitive sites" belonging to Israel in Jaffa.

The European Union has imposed sanctions on Iran’s navy for restricting maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran squeezed the vital waterway in response to the Israeli-American strikes launched in late February, more recently imposing a toll system for any ship wanting to pass through.

Today the 27 member states approved sanctions against part of the IRGC Navy that it says is enforcing this tollbooth system, as well as two Iranian officials, the Council of the E.U. said in a statement.

Cargo vessels anchored today in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran. Amirhosein Khorgooi / ISNA via AP

“Tehran actively, effectively closed the strait, and its drones continue to threaten the maritime traffic,” the E.U.'s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, told a news conference. “Ministers were clear today that Iran’s actions are unacceptable.”

The Iranian Red Crescent Society said Israel had attacked 12 locations across Iran but the strikes had not caused any casualties or deaths.

"All rescue and relief bases, as well as the Society’s emergency operations centers are on standby," Mojtaba Khaledi, a spokesperson for the country’s primary humanitarian relief organization, said in a video message on X.

Sirens sound in the area of Zar’it, the Israeli military said in an initial review.

Details about the incident in the area of northern Israel, which sits just south of the Lebanese border, are under review, the IDF added.

Israel’s decision to attack Iran after Trump said publicly he would urge Netanyahu not to retaliate highlights an “asymmetry” in the power dynamics between the U.S. and Israel, one expert told NBC News this morning.

“There’s an asymmetry in these dynamics where obviously Israel is dependent and beholden to the United States, but, you know, simultaneous to that, Netanyahu is thinking about his own political career,” Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East and North Africa program at the London-based think tank Chatham House, said in a phone interview.

“This is election year, and from a domestic and Israeli security perspective, he has to respond,” Vakil said of Netanyahu. “If he doesn't, he looks like a proxy of the United States and that won't play out well for him personally.”

Kobi Michael, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies, a Tel Aviv-based national security-focused think tank, said an Israeli response should have been expected.

The prime minister of Pakistan, which has acted as a mediator in the war, said the exchange of missiles is “a stark reminder of the dangers associated with a tenuous ceasefire and the unbearable consequences it may lead to.”

Shehbaz Sharif said in a statement that he and his government “urge all sides to exercise restraint and give peace a little more chance. Let us continue to remain on the path of peace and diplomacy which have bright prospects of success instead of violence and destruction!”

He added the exchange of fire had come as his negotiators “work earnestly and painstakingly, together with our brothers and partners, to find a peaceful diplomatic solution to the conflict.”

Syrian farmers were pictured next to an Iranian missile that fell into the agricultural area of Najha near the capital Damascus, after it was intercepted by Israeli air defense systems.

Bakr Alkasem / AFP via Getty Images

Bakr Alkasem / AFP via Getty Images

Iraq and Syria closed their airspace as a safety precaution yesterday, after their eastern neighbour Iran launched missiles across their territory towards targets in Israel.

Iran fired “approximately 30 missiles” at Israel this morning although most of them were shot down, Israel's military told NBC News. 

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corp released video which it said showed the launches, although NBC News cannot verify the footage. 

Within hours, the Israeli military responded by hitting a petrochemical plant in Iran where state television reported the sound of explosions in Isfahan, Karaj, Tabriz and Tehran. 

Iran’s semiofficial Tasnim news agency later reported that the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters — the country’s top joint military command center — would suspend operations unless Lebanon was attacked again.

An Israeli Iron Dome missile streaks across the sky to intercept incoming projectiles today. Jalaa Marey / AFP via Getty Images

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said that his nation has “abandoned neither the battlefield nor the negotiating table.”

“Our priority is national security and the peace of our people. We will firmly defend the rights of the nation and will not back down in the face of any threat,” he wrote on X.

“Diplomacy and defense are the two pillars of national power; we have abandoned neither the battlefield nor the negotiating table,” he added. “God willing, through unity and wisdom, Iran will emerge from this challenge proud and successful as well.”

The European Union's top diplomat has warned that the Middle East “does not need escalation.”

With E.U. defense ministers meeting in Brussels, Kaja Kallas, the bloc’s high representative for foreign affairs, told reporters, “Over the night, we have seen escalation again.”

The parties involved in the conflict needed to “sit down to a negotiation table and agree,” she added.

Lebanon's national news agency has reported that Israel launched airstrikes on several villages in the country's south.

Israel’s military, meanwhile, said that sirens sounded in several areas in the country’s north, amid its conflict with Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Smoke rises after an Israeli bombardment on a position in southern Lebanon. Jalaa Marey / AFP via Getty Images

In announcing the end to its military operations, Iran had warned that "if aggressions and hostile actions continue, including in southern Lebanon, far more severe and crushing measures than before will follow."

The U.S. military did not conduct any strikes against Iran with Israel, according to a U.S. official.

The U.S. did not shoot down or intercept any incoming Iranian missiles or projectiles during this recent volley between Israel and Iran. And the current U.S. assessment is that Iran was not targeting any U.S. personnel, assets or locations during the strikes directed at Israel, the official said.

CENTCOM Commander Adm. Brad Cooper has been in contact with senior Israeli military officials, but the U.S. did not cooperate in the strikes, the official said.

The Qatari foreign minister has spoken by phone with his Iranian counterpart, the Gulf nation said, recounting that “efforts at mediation” between the U.S. and Iran “were reviewed."

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, who is both the prime minister and foreign minister of Qatar, spoke with Iran’s Abbas Araghchi, the Qatari Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Al Thani affirmed “Qatar’s support for all endeavors aimed at containing escalation and reaching a comprehensive agreement that contributes to consolidating security and stability, and achieves lasting peace in the region,” it said.

Qatar is a U.S. ally that has played the role of mediator during the conflict.

Was this a momentary flare-up between Israel and Iran over Lebanon or the start of something wider?

Though this was the first direct exchange of fire between the regional powers since the official ceasefire began in April, it was notable that Tehran declined to strike any of the American military bases dotted around the region, as it has done before.

Tehran's military has now also announced a “suspension” of “armed forces operations.”

Trump tells Israel not to strike Iran, saying he 'calls the shots'

02:14

That could signal that Iran does not want this to escalate back into a wider, full-blown war, which could drag in the U.S. and its Gulf allies, a senior U.S. military official tells NBC News.

Iran did not attack any ships, it did not fire drones at Dubai or missiles at Kuwait. That could indicate that it was solely expressing its anger at the Israeli offensive in Lebanon. Iran has demanded that Lebanon, home to its proxy militant-political group Hezbollah, should be covered in any peace deal. Israel and the U.S. want to keep Lebanon separate.

What happens next will inform us whether this is an isolated spike in escalation — or triggers something wider.

Oil prices quickly fell after Iran announced the "suspension "of military operations against Israel.

U.S. crude oil, which was up as much as 5.4% earlier, tumbled to its low of the morning, up only 1.5%. International Brent crude oil also gave up its earlier gain of 5% and was up only 1.3%.

It's the latest in a near-constantly volatile market, as traders try to digest nonstop headlines.

Stock futures hit their highest levels of the morning at the same time, with Nasdaq 100 futures pointing to a gain of 1.4% and S&P 500 futures rising 0.8%.

Iran has announced the “suspension” of its “armed forces operations.”

Tehran's central military headquarters announced the news but warned that “if aggressions and hostile actions continue, including in southern Lebanon, far more severe and crushing measures than before will follow.”

Iran had “delivered a painful response to the regime in support of the oppressed people of Lebanon,” the Khatam al-Anbiya Central HQ said in a statement, according to the semiofficial Tasnim news agency. “It is a response from which the illegitimate Zionist regime and its supporters should have learned a lesson.”

It added, “The suspension of Armed Forces operations is announced,” without giving any more details. Israel has yet to respond to the announcement.

People take cover in a public shelter during a rocket attack alert today in Tel Aviv, Israel. Ilia Yefimovich / AFP via Getty Images

Iran’s military says its attacks on Israel demonstrated that its forces “remain at the highest level of defensive and offensive readiness, carrying out their promised actions with speed and precision."

The Khatam al-Anbiya Central HQ, the headquarters for Iran’s armed forces, said that Israel “received heavy, targeted, intelligent, and damaging strikes” in a “successful offensive operation by the powerful forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the semiofficial Tasnim news agency reported.

“A strong and proud Iran, together with the resistance forces in the region, will stand firm under any circumstances and against any threat,” it said. Iran “will never submit to enemies who have failed in war and if aggression and hostile actions continue, they will be met with an even stronger response.”

People cross the street past a billboard showing portraits of Iran's late supreme leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, left, and slain supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in central Tehran today. Atta Kenare / AFP via Getty Images

In a new Truth Social post, Trump claims that both “Israel and Iran are looking to do an immediate CEASEFIRE!”

The president has repeatedly said that a deal to end the war is imminent, despite no such agreement materializing.

“Final negotiations on ‘Peace’ are proceeding, subject to ignorance or stupidity getting in its way,” the president wrote. “The Blockade will remain in place, and in full force and effect, until a ‘Final Deal’ is reached. Things should move quickly.”

The Israeli military has given an update on attacks earlier against petrochemical facilities in Mahshahr, southwestern Iran.

It said that "the targeted infrastructure produced unique materials that serve as critical components for the development of ballistic missiles."

Smoke rises near the Mahshahr petrochemical complex in Iran after a reported Israeli attack today.  Social media via Reuters

01:11

Iranians took to the streets of Tehran after Iran launched missiles toward Israel for the first time since a ceasefire was reached in April.

The strikes came after Israel struck Beirut’s southern suburbs in retaliation for alleged Hezbollah attacks.

The American president has posted to Truth Social: "Israel and Iran must immediately stop 'shooting.'"

Trump said the U.S. will work with Iran to retrieve and destroy its highly enriched uranium if he is able to cut a deal with Tehran to end the three-month-old war between the countries — or, in the absence of an agreement, that he will further degrade the Iranian military to the point that American forces can safely collect the material on their own.

“If we make a deal that now we’re friendly, we’ll all go together. It’ll be our equipment. We’ll take it out and destroy it, whether it’s on-site or whether we take it off-site,” Trump said in an interview with NBC News’ “Meet the Press.”

“And we will go with them, or without them. But we won’t have people shooting at us, OK?” Trump said. “Now, if we don’t make a deal, then we’re going to take them out militarily very harshly. And we’ll wait till we do that before we go, in which case we’ll have safety either way.”

Read the full story here.

Citizens gathered at Enghelab Square in Tehran late last night to hold a demonstration in support of the government, following Iran’s missile attack on Israel.

Vahid Salemi / AP

Fatemeh Bahrami / Anadolu via Getty Images

Vahid Salemi / AP

Fatemeh Bahrami / Anadolu via Getty Images

Attendees of the protest were pictured in the streets carrying Iranian and Hezbollah flags.

Intense explosions have been heard in Tehran this morning, the Khabar Fouri Telegram channel reported as the semiofficial Iranian news agency Tasnim said air defenses had been activated in the west and east of the capital.

NBC News was not immediately able to independently verify the reports of explosions.

Tasnim reported that air defenses had been activated in west and east Tehran just moments after the reports of explosions.

Oil prices surged this morning as Israel and Iran traded a new wave of airstrikes.

Brent crude, the international benchmark, jumped $4.51 to $97.60 a barrel. Benchmark U.S. crude surged $4.10 to $94.64 a barrel.

Iran is "currently exchanging messages" with the U.S. "in an atmosphere of deep mistrust," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said this morning.

Speaking at a news conference, Baghaei said the fighting overnight has "intensified suspicions" in Iran, adding that Israel's actions in the region "cannot be separated from America's policies."

Baghaei said the U.S.' "contradictory statements, inconsistent behavior, and confusing declarations, whether intentional or not" had "already caused significant disruption to the diplomatic process." He said that the fighting that has broken out over the past 24 hours would only further complicate an "already troubled diplomatic situation."

He also referenced debate around whether the Israeli government was listening to Washington after Israel attacked Iran following Trump's comments saying he would urge Netanyahu not to retaliate against the Iranian assault that followed Israeli strikes on Beirut.

Iranian officials say there have been no casualties reported in Tehran or at a military center in Tabriz following reported Israeli strikes.

Iranian state news agency IRNA said an early morning attack on the military center in Tabriz had caused no casualties, citing the director general of crisis management of East Azerbaijan province.

In a separate statement, Tehran's emergency medical services said that following reports of attacks on several locations in the capital, it had yet to receive any calls reporting injuries.

It said operational teams remained on full alert.

Two men were pictured this morning inspecting a fallen rocket half-buried in the ground on the outskirts of Jericho, in the occupied West Bank, following attacks on Israel by Iran and the Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

Ahmad Gharabli / AFP via Getty Images

Ahmad Gharabli / AFP via Getty Images

All airports in western Iran have been closed until further notice, Iranian semi-official Fars News agency said this morning, citing Iran's Civil Aviation Organization.

It said that following reports of attacks on Tehran's airports, both Mehrabad International Airport and Imam Khomeini International Airport had also been closed.

It comes after Iran's semiofficial Mehr News Agency reported that all flights at Mehrabad International Airport had been canceled until further notice.

Iranian state news agency IRNA had earlier reported that two explosions were heard overnight in various parts of western Tehran. The Tehran Fire Department had said at the time that no urban areas in Tehran had been targeted, according to IRNA.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps said it had targeted "key facilities" at two Israeli air bases.

The Guard said the operation targeted the Nevatim Airbase near Beersheba in the Negev desert of southern Israel and the Tel Nof Airbase, just south of Rehovot in the central district.

It said the attacks were carried out in response to Israel's "missile aggression" against Iranian radar sites. It added that all of its combat and operational units remained at "full readiness" to carry out large-scale operations "across all fronts."

In a later statement on X, a Guard spokesperson said the force had "proven that the skies over the occupied territories and the region are under our control and dominated by the roar of the IRGC Aerospace Force's destructive missiles."

Yemen's Houthi rebels have claimed a missile attack on Israeli targets in Jaffa and warned that vessels affiliated with Israel are once again a target in the Red Sea.

In a statement this morning, the Iran-backed Houthis confirmed the launch of a "barrage of missiles targeting sensitive Israeli enemy targets in the occupied Jaffa area."

They said they were also announcing a "complete and total ban" on Israeli maritime navigation in the Red Sea as Israel and Iran traded strikes for the first time since the ceasefire between Washington and Tehran came into effect.

The Houthis have so far largely refrained from involvement in the war, but any attacks in the Red Sea could pose a new threat to global shipping and trade.

The Israeli military has just issued a warning that a new round of missiles has been launched from Iran.

"A short while ago, the IDF identified missiles launched from Iran toward the territory of the State of Israel. Defensive systems are operating to intercept the threat," it said.

There are no known casualties so far in Israel following Iranian missile attacks, said Magen David Adom, the country's emergency services.

Medical staff transfer patients to a protected underground facility, following an Iranian missile attack in Tel Aviv today. Ohad Zwigenberg / AP

It also said that paramedics were dispatched to the occupied West Bank, and additional teams were deployed to treat "several individuals" who were injured on their way to protected areas.

The Israeli air force has struck “several targets” at a petrochemical facility in southwestern Iran, the IDF said.

The attack damaged parts of the facility in Mahshahr, said Valiollah Hayati, deputy governor for security affairs in Khuzestan Province, according to Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency.

“Further details regarding the extent of the damage and any possible casualties will be announced subsequently," Hayati said.

The IDF warned Israelis that it has identified a new round of missiles launched from Iran toward Israel.

It said that Israel's defense systems are working to intercept the threat but that people in "relevant areas" are being told via cellphone alerts to seek protected space and stay there until further notice.

"The public is asked to act responsibly and follow the instructions — they save lives," IDF said on Telegram today.

The IDF said a missile was launched from the ground in Yemen toward Israeli territory.

Israeli aerial defense systems were working to intercept the missile, the IDF said Monday on Telegram. The Associated Press, citing Israel's rescue services, subsequently reported there were no impact and no casualties from the launch.

Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have fired missiles at Israel in the recent past but have not been fully active in the Iran war.

Israel is targeting Iranian surface-to-surface missile launch sites, as well as infrastructure not related to the energy sector," Yechiel Leiter, Israel's ambassador to the U.S., said in a post tonight on X.

Leiter added that Iran fired 11 ballistic missiles at Israel.

"No self-respecting country in the world would tolerate such an attack, and neither will Israel," Leiter said.

Leiter added that if Hezbollah fires into Israel, they would respond by hitting targets in Dahiya, south of Beirut.

NBC News has not independently confirmed what weapons were used or what sites were targeted. Israel has not provided further detail on its targets.

The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem told U.S. government employees and their family members to shelter in place today after Iranian strikes were launched earlier in the day.

The employees and their families should also "be prepared to move to a protected shelter in the event of a red alert, until further notice," the embassy said in a security alert.

"In the event of missile, rocket fire, or hostile aircraft intrusion, a 'red alert' siren may be activated," says the embassy's alert, which was issued before Israeli strikes on Iran. "Follow the instructions from local authorities and the Israeli Home Front Command and seek shelter immediately."

It also said consular sections of the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem and the Embassy Branch Office Tel Aviv are closed Monday.

Israeli security forces examine a fragment of an intercepted missile in northern Israel early Monday.

Earlier, the IDF said it had intercepted missiles Iran had fired toward Israel.

Rami Shlush / AP

The Tehran fire department said no urban areas in Tehran have been targeted in strikes by Israel, Iranian state media reported.

There were reports of early morning explosions in parts of western Tehran, IRNA reported.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said Israel launched ballistic missiles in strikes targeting its soil, state media reported.

The Iranian state news agency IRNA reported the Revolutionary Guard announcement Monday on Telegram. It didn’t provide additional details.

It wasn’t clear how many targets were struck or whether there were casualties.

The Revolutionary Guard is the most powerful military, political and economic force in Iran.

Trump tried to stop Israel from retaliating against Iran, he said in an interview with Axios today.

“I am going to call Bibi right now and tell him not to retaliate," Trump said, according to the outlet, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "Each of them had their fun. Israel had its strike, and Iran had its strike. We don’t need another one."

Trump has said Netanyahu “won’t have any choice” but to accept whatever deal he negotiates with Iran.

“I call the shots. I call all the shots. He doesn’t call the shots,” Trump said in an interview with The Financial Times today.

Several blasts were heard in Tehran, Tabriz and Isfahan, Iran's semiofficial Mehr News Agency reported.

Israel's military said early Monday local time that it struck Iranian military targets in the western and central parts of the country.

In said on Telegram that the Israeli air force hit targets "belonging to the Iranian terror regime."

It did not provide additional details about the strikes, which came hours after it said Iran launched missiles toward Israel. The IDF said it had intercepted the missiles from Iran.

Israeli military says Iran targeting country with missiles for first time since ceasefire

08:23

Iran launched multiple barrages of missiles toward Israel on Sunday, according to the Israeli military, after Israeli warplanes struck the southern suburbs of Beirut in retaliation for alleged Hezbollah attacks, threatening to unravel a recently renewed ceasefire.

The Israel Defense Forces said it had detected missiles launched from Iran and activated air defense systems to intercept them.

The U.S. military is monitoring the “active situation” between Iran and Israel, a U.S. official said. Thus far there has been no U.S. involvement in defending against this round of Iranian missiles, the official said.

The U.S. administration is pressing Iran to make a deal to end the war in the Middle East, which has strained the global economy and threatened a hunger crisis in some of the world’s most vulnerable countries.

Read the full story here.