Key Takeaways

• Trump’s urgent plea: The president posted on social media: “Israel and Iran must immediately stop ‘shooting.'”
• First Iran-Israel exchange since April: The attacks marked the most serious breach of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire.
• How it started: An Israeli strike on Beirut triggered Iranian retaliation; Israel then hit targets in central and western Iran.
• Yemen joins in: Israel intercepted a ballistic missile launched from Yemen.
• IRGC hits southern Israeli airbases: Iran’s Revolutionary Guard confirmed strikes on Israeli air facilities.
• Explosions reported across Iran: Iranian media reported blasts in Tehran, Tabriz, and Isfahan.
• Trump: “Very close to a final deal”: The president told Axios the peace deal will be “a good deal” and he doesn’t want it derailed.
• “Israel had its strike, Iran had its strike. We don’t need another one.”
• Iran official contradicts Trump: A source with knowledge of the talks told MS NOW a deal is “no longer feasible at this stage.”
• Trump called Netanyahu: The president urged Israel not to retaliate, warning that doing so would extend the conflict “like the last 47 years.”
• Deal expected Monday-Wednesday: Trump said he had anticipated a signed agreement before the latest strikes upended talks.
• Iran accuses U.S. and Israel of ceasefire violations: Tehran cited recent U.S. attacks on Iran over the past two weeks.
• Blockade stays: Trump confirmed the U.S. blockade on Iranian ports will remain “in full force and effect, until a ‘Final Deal’ is reached.”
• Nuclear and uranium sticking points: Iran has rebuffed Trump’s demands to hand over enriched uranium and continues to demand sanctions relief and asset unfreezing.
• Hormuz still choked: Iran maintains its grip on the strait; the U.S. blockade on Iranian ports remains in place.
• Brent surges 4%: Oil climbed to $96.78 per barrel, still below recent $100+ peaks but well above pre-war levels.

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U.S. President Donald Trump has called on Israel and Iran to halt their renewed attacks on each other, after the resurgence in hostilities extended into Monday and dented hopes for an imminent peace deal between Washington and Tehran.

“Israel and Iran must immediately stop ‘shooting,'” Trump said in a social media post on Monday. The strikes marked the first time that Iran and Israel had attacked each other since their shaky U.S.-brokered truce took effect in April.

Despite the strikes, Trump claimed that Israel and Iran were “looking to do an immediate” ceasefire, adding that the final negotiations on “Peace” are proceeding, “subject to ignorance or stupidity getting in its way.”

How the Latest Escalation Began

Media reports said the latest exchange began with an Israeli strike on the Lebanese capital of Beirut. Israel has been fighting Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon, although the conflict had not recently escalated beyond some skirmishes. Tehran then responded with attacks, sparking a retaliation from Israel that its military said hit targets in central and western Iran.

On Monday, Israel said alarms warning of new waves of attacks from Iran had been sounded, adding that it had also intercepted a ballistic missile launched from Yemen, the Wall Street Journal reported. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps also noted that it had attacked airbases in southern Israel, according to the WSJ.

Separately, Iranian media reported explosions across the cities of Tehran, Tabriz, and Isfahan.

Trump Says Iran Deal “Very Close”

Still, Trump said the strikes would not impact the White House’s ongoing effort to forge a peace deal with Iran — although an Iranian official with knowledge of the talks told MS NOW that a deal was “no longer feasible at this stage.”

The president said he was calling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to tell him “not to attack Iran in response” to Iranian missile strikes, warning that Israeli retaliation would keep the conflict going “like the last 47 years, or the last 3,000 years,” Axios reported prior to Israel’s Sunday strikes.

“We’re very close to a final deal with Iran. It’ll be a good deal. I don’t want it to blow up because of what’s happening now,” Trump told Axios.

He stressed that both sides had now exchanged strikes. “Israel had its strike and Iran had its strike. We don’t need another one,” he said. Israel had vowed a “powerful” response to the Iranian attack, two Israeli sources told CNN — but Trump’s direct intervention signaled Washington was seeking to contain the escalation.

Iran accused the United States and Israel of violating the ceasefire, especially in the wake of U.S. attacks on Iran over the past two weeks. Tehran had retaliated by launching air strikes on Kuwait.

Several reports showed Iran warning against any Israeli retaliation for its Sunday strikes. Tehran had lambasted Israel’s latest strikes on Lebanon, and has repeatedly called for Lebanon to be included in any ceasefire deal.

An Israel-Lebanon ceasefire fell through last week after Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah objected to the deal.

Trump said he was not happy about Israel’s Lebanon attacks — which were not coordinated with Washington — adding he had expected a deal signed Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday before the strikes upended talks, Fox News reported.

Key Sticking Points Remain

Iran’s nuclear ambitions remained a key point of contention in talks with the United States. Tehran has largely rebuffed calls from Trump to hand over its enriched uranium stockpiles, and has also demanded sanctions relief and the unfreezing of its overseas assets held by the United States.

Tehran was also reportedly maintaining its stranglehold over the Strait of Hormuz — a vital waterway off Iran’s southern coast through which a fifth of the world’s oil flows. The U.S. has kept its own blockade on Iranian ports in place in response.

On Monday, Trump said the U.S. blockade will remain in “full force and effect, until a ‘Final Deal’ is reached,” stressing that “[t]hings should move quickly.”

Brent crude prices, the global oil benchmark, last rose 4.0% to $96.78 a barrel — remaining below past peaks above $100 a barrel but still well above pre-war levels.