DUBAI/Tel Aviv (Reuters) – Iran’s military announced on Monday that its first wave of attacks on Israel since a ceasefire in April was now over, although it threatened to resume the strikes if Israel continued attacks on Lebanon.
There was no immediate response from Israel, which had launched attacks on Iran after Tehran fired missiles towards Israel late on Sunday. Iran had said its strikes were in retaliation for Israeli strikes on the outskirts of Beirut.
Earlier, U.S. President Donald Trump demanded that Israel and Iran “immediately stop ‘shooting'”.
The flurry of attacks drove oil prices up around 4% and threatened to wreck U.S.-led efforts to broker a deal to end the war.
Israel hit a petrochemical plant in southwestern Iran that it said was used to produce ballistic missiles. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it retaliated with a strike aimed at a similar Israeli plant in the city of Haifa.
The first direct exchange between Israel and Iran since April could interfere with Trump’s efforts to end the war he launched alongside Israel at the end of February.
Iran’s military headquarters said it had “delivered a painful response” against Israel for its attacks on Lebanon, including Sunday’s strikes on the outskirts of Beirut.
“Accordingly, the operations of the armed forces are hereby declared halted; however, it is emphasized that if the aggressions and acts of mischief continue — including in southern Lebanon — much more severe and crushing actions than before will follow.”
In one of several posts on social media, Trump said Israel and Iran both wanted “an immediate CEASEFIRE! Final negotiations on ‘Peace’ are proceeding, subject to ignorance or stupidity getting in its way.” He added that a U.S. blockade of Iranian ports would remain in place till a final deal was reached.
An Israeli official said Trump had spoken on Monday to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
