Iran says attacks halted as Trump tells Tehran, Israel to “stop ‘shooting'” on war’s 101st day

The ⁠European Union is to impose new sanctions on Iran for restricting maritime ⁠traffic, the bloc’s foreign policy chief said Monday.

Speaking to journalists Monday before a meeting of EU defense ministers in Cyprus, Kaja Kallas said the group would discuss the severe gridlock in the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has been effectively blocking since mid-April, charging ships for use of the vital waterway and occasionally attacking those deemed to be allied with the U.S. or Israel.

“It will be the first time where the freedom of navigation sanctions will be applied on Iran,” Kallas told reporters, without providing any further details.

Iran is “prepared for a long-term war” and the U.S. “cannot escape responsibility for the crimes” of Israel, a military source was quoted Monday as saying by the semi-official Tasnim News agency, which is closely associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Iran is “prepared for a long-term war with the Zionist regime and to strike U.S. interests,” Tasnim quoted the source as saying.

“The coming days will show that Israeli and American calculations are consistently wrong,” the source said.

The comments came before Iran’s military headquarters announced a halt to all military operations, claiming it had delivered a “painful response” to Israeli strikes in Lebanon. 

Mr. Trump had earlier urged both sides to “stop ‘shooting'” and he said Israel and Iran both wanted to reach a ceasefire.

The intense exchange of fire between Iran and Israel was among the most serious tests of the ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran that Mr. Trump announced in early April.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “won’t have any choice” but to accept an agreement between the U.S. and Iran, President Trump said in an interview published on Sunday, because “I call the shots.”

In a telephone interview with the Financial Times, Mr. Trump said the Israeli leader “won’t have any choice.”

“I call the shots. I call all the shots. He [Netanyahu] doesn’t call the shots,” insisted Mr. Trump.

He spoke with the newspaper after Iran launched missiles at Israel in retaliation for Israeli strikes on the Lebanese capital Beirut, which Mr. Trump told Fox News he had been “not happy” about. 

Mr. Trump asked Netanyahu on Sunday not to retaliate against Iran for the missile launches, according to Axios, to give diplomacy a chance. Mr. Trump was “pretty adamant that we are close to a deal with Iran,” a U.S. official told Axios.

Israel did end up striking Iran after Iran launched the missiles Sunday, but Iran’s military said Monday that it had halted its operations, claiming to have sent the intended message, as Mr. Trump insisted both sides were looking to agree on an “immediate CEASEFIRE.” 

Iran’s military on Monday announced a halt to all military operations after trading strikes with Israel.

Iran fired drones at Israel Sunday after Israel bombed Beirut’s southern suburbs against the urging of Washington. Israel responded with its own strikes and the tit-for-tat attacks continued into Monday.

But Iran’s central military command, the Khatam Al-Anbia, announced later Monday a “halt in military operations.”

In a statement it said Iran had “delivered a painful response” to the “atrocities of the brutal Zionist regime in southern Lebanon” and the Lebanese capital Beirut, and that Israel “and its supporters must learn a lesson” from the strikes.

“Accordingly,” the statement continued, “a halt in military operations is hereby announced.”

It added that “in the event of continued aggression and provocations, including in southern Lebanon, much stronger and more crushing actions will follow.”

President Trump urged Israel and Iran to “stop ‘shooting'” earlier Monday and said both sides were seeking an “immediate CEASEFIRE” after the weekend flare-up. 

Iran and Israel are seeking an “immediate CEASEFIRE,” President Trump said Monday, adding that “final negotiations” were ongoing and “things should move quickly.”

His comments came hours after Iran and Israel traded strikes in the worst violence in the war since a ceasefire was signed in early April.

In a post on Truth Social Monday, Mr. Trump wrote that Israel and Iran were “looking to do an immediate CEASEFIRE!”

“Final negotiations on “Peace” are proceeding, subject to ignorance or stupidity getting in its way,” he added.

“The Blockade will remain in place, and in full force and effect, until a “Final Deal” is reached. Things should move quickly.”

President Trump told Israel and Iran to “immediately stop ‘shooting'” Monday, as the two countries traded strikes in the worst flare-up of the war since Mr. Trump announced a ceasefire in early April.

“Israel and Iran must immediately stop ‘shooting’,” Mr. Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

The two sides have exchanged fire since Israel launched strikes Sunday on the Lebanese capital Beirut, in defiance of the Trump administration’s wishes. 

The U.S. president had urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday not to retaliate for Iranian strikes launched in response to the attacks in Beirut, according to Axios. 

Iran said Monday that the United States held responsibility for the resumption of fighting with Israel, saying Israel’s actions “cannot be separated” from U.S. policy.

“Without a doubt … the actions of the Zionist regime in the region cannot be separated from U.S. policies,” foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said at a press conference in Tehran.

“No one believes that the Zionist regime would carry out any action without prior coordination and cooperation with the United States,” he added.

The Israeli military said Monday that it had detected a new barrage of missiles launched from Iran, the sixth salvo since the latest flare-up in fighting began the previous day.

“A short while ago, the IDF identified missiles launched from Iran towards the territory of the State of Israel. Defensive systems are operating to intercept the threat,” the military said.

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels announced a missile attack on Israel on Monday and declared a ban on Israeli shipping in the Red Sea, raising the specter of a return to major disruption on the key route.

“We declare a complete and total ban on Israeli maritime navigation in the Red Sea,” said a statement from the Houthis’ armed forces, which also confirmed their first missile attack on Israel since early April.

Israel and Iran traded fire early Monday in retaliatory strikes that threatened to drag the wider Middle East back into a regional war.

Israeli authorities said two waves of Iranian missiles targeted the country and urged the public to seek shelter. Explosions could be heard in central Israel as Israeli air defenses sought to intercept the incoming Iranian fire.

Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said it had targeted two military bases in Israel, describing the attack as being part of Operation Nasr, or “Victory.” The Guard said it launched the missiles after Israel targeted radar sites in three areas of Iran.

Israel and Iran both said Israel hit an Iranian petrochemical plant.  

Israel launched strikes on central and western Iran early Monday in response to missile fire from Tehran, in the most serious crossfire since President Trump announced a ceasefire in the war on April 8.

Tehran had threatened retaliation on Sunday after Israel struck Beirut’s southern suburbs without warning in defiance of Washington’s request days ago not to hit the Lebanese capital.

Monday marked the 101st day of the Iran war. It was launched jointly by the U.S. and Israel on Feb. 28 with strikes that killed former Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior leaders.

CBS/AP

The Israeli military says it conducted strikes on military targets in western and central Iran early Monday local time, according to a statement posted on X.

The strikes came after Iran launched missiles at Israel on Sunday and after President Trump had called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to urge him not to retaliate immediately for the Iranian missile attack, according to a senior U.S. official.

The official, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to describe a private phone call, said that Mr. Trump believed he had convinced Netanyahu to wait.

Iran had warned that an Israeli attack on Beirut would renew full-scale war across the Mideast, even as Pakistan and other mediators try to restart talks between Tehran and Washington.

“U.S. forces across the Middle East remain vigilant and ready,” the U.S. Central Command posted on X shortly before the missile launches. The U.S. Embassy in Israel later directed employees and family members to shelter in place.

CBS/AP

The White House confirmed to CBS News on Sunday that President Trump has been briefed on the escalation between Iran and Israel.

In an interview with Fox News, Mr. Trump said, “What I would suggest to Iran: You’ve shot your missiles, that’s enough … Get back to the table and make a deal.”

Asked about Israel launching its initial strikes on Beirut, Fox’s Trey Yingst said the president responded: “I’m not happy about it.” 

Israel said Sunday that Iran has launched missiles at it in the first such bombardment since a fragile ceasefire took effect in early April, complicating mediation efforts for a deal to end the war.

Iran’s state broadcaster confirmed the launch of missiles and multiple explosions were heard in northern Israel. Israel’s military said it was working on intercepting the missiles but “the defense is not hermetic,” adding that sirens sounded in several areas of the country.

Tehran had warned of retaliation after Israel on Sunday struck Beirut’s southern suburbs without warning in defiance of Washington’s request days ago to stand down. Israel called it retaliation for the Iranian-backed Hezbollah firing at northern Israel earlier in the day.

Lebanon’s health ministry said an Israeli air raid on Beirut’s southern suburbs left two people dead and 20 more wounded. 

The wounded included four women and four children, according to a statement from the ministry. 

Iran’s chief negotiator warned on Sunday that an Israeli strike on south Beirut and the ongoing U.S. blockade of Iranian ports would trigger retaliation.

In a social media post, parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf accused Washington of giving Israel the “green light” for strikes that hit two targets in the Lebanese capital.

This and the blockade, he said, “turns the bases and assets of America and the [Israeli] regime in the region into legitimate targets. Our armed forces, as always, are free to act.”