Tehran, Iran. Israel said it carried out air strikes on military targets in western and central Iran early Monday, hours after the Israeli military reported intercepting ballistic missiles fired from Iran. The exchange marked the first such Iranian attack since a ceasefire took effect on April 8.
Israeli strikes and Iranian reports
The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement posted on Telegram that “the Israeli Air Force struck military targets belonging to the Iranian terrorist regime in western and central Iran.”
Iranian state media reported multiple explosions in Tehran and in Karaj, west of the capital. A US official told Axios the Israeli strikes were “relatively limited in scale.”
Missile attack and ceasefire pressure
Earlier, the IDF said it had identified and intercepted missiles fired from Iran and that emergency services reported no casualties.
The exchange was one of the most serious tests for the ceasefire agreed on April 8 to end hostilities between the United States, Israel and Iran. It came as Washington and Tehran have made limited progress in talks on an interim deal, with no agreement reached despite repeated statements from US President Donald Trump that a deal is close.
Market reaction
Oil markets reacted sharply to the developments. Brent crude rose 3.83% to above $96 a barrel, while WTI gained 3.69% to $93.88 a barrel. The US dollar strengthened against all major G10 currencies.
US and regional response
After the Israeli strikes, Saudi Arabia issued a warning of a possible missile threat near the Prince Sultan air base, which hosts US forces, according to the Associated Press.
Axios reported that Trump had asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a Sunday phone call not to retaliate against the Iranian missile attack and to allow more time for diplomacy. In a separate interview with the Financial Times, Trump said Netanyahu would have to accept any deal the US reaches with Iran, saying, “I make the decisions. I make all the decisions,” and adding that Netanyahu “is not the one who decides.”
Link to Lebanon flare-up
The strikes followed renewed fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. The Lebanese group attacked targets in northern Israel in the early hours of Sunday, and Israel responded with a strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs that killed two people and wounded eleven.
Mohsen Rezaei, a military adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, told the Iranian Students’ News Agency that the missile launches toward Israel were “a warning to stop the hostile actions” in Lebanon.
