Iran and Israel traded attacks on Monday for the first time since the April ceasefire between Tehran and Washington, in what marked a serious blow to US President Donald Trump's efforts to negotiate an end to the war.
Israel targeted sites in western and central Iran early on Monday in response to Iranian attacks on Israel launched on Sunday evening following Israeli strikes on Beirut.
"Israel completed a large-scale strike on strategic defense systems belonging to the Iranian terror regime," the Israeli military wrote on Monday on its Telegram channel.
It said it deployed "dozens of jets" to dismantle detection and defence systems it said Iran had deployed in its effort to restore its capabilities that earlier Israeli actions had degraded. "The strike led to the dismantling of these systems," it said.
Iran has suspended flights in the capital Tehran and in the western and north-eastern parts of the country following the escalation of hostilities, Iran's news agency Fars reported, citing an airport spokesman.
Explosions could be heard in Tehran on Monday and air defences in the capital have been activated, state news agency Fars reported.
Local sources told dpa they could hear the sounds of the air defence system.
Iran fires rockets at Israel
Israel's strikes followed Iranian rocket attacks on Israel on Sunday evening, with state media reporting several waves of missiles fired at Israel. Iran's central military command also confirmed the attacks.
In a statement broadcast by state radio, the armed forces justified the attack by citing "repeated violations" of the ceasefire in Lebanon by the Israeli military. Iran's armed forces said they targeted, among other things, the Israeli Air Force base Ramat David.
According to the Israeli military, all rockets in the first waves were intercepted.
New rocket fire in the morning
Warning sirens sounded in several areas of Israel after fresh Iranian rocket fire on Monday morning.
Air raid alerts were issued in the centre and south of the country, with many people seeking shelter in bunkers after having received a warning by mobile phone.
The Israeli military said its defence systems were working to block the threat.
Israeli reports said several houses in an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank were damaged in an Iranian rocket attack in the morning.
The military also said a rocket was fired from Yemen towards Israel. Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels have claimed responsibility for Monday's attack, the first launched against Israel in several weeks.
Israeli army attacks petrochemical facility in Iran
The Israeli military said it attacked a petrochemical industry facility in south-west Iran, in the port city of Mahshahr.
Iran's news agency Fars, which is close to the powerful Revolutionary Guards, cited a deputy governor of Iran's Khuzestan province as saying parts of the facility were damaged in the airstrike. The information could not initially be independently verified.
Netanyahu defies Trump's demand
In an apparent bid to de-escalate the situation amid Iran's fresh strikes on Israel, US President Trump urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in an overnight phone call not to launch retaliatory attacks against Tehran, according to media reports.
Trump also appealed to Iran to return to the negotiating table and conclude an agreement, the US broadcaster Fox News said.
Trump, in a telephone interview with the Financial Times said he was confident that an agreement would be reached despite the latest escalation and that the latest attacks would not affect the agreement.
Netanyahu would also have "no choice" but to accept an agreement negotiated by the US with Iran, Trump said. "I call all the shots. He doesn't call the shots," the US president was quoted as saying, referring to the Israeli prime minister.
Attacks in Lebanon
Israel attacked suburbs of the Lebanese capital Beirut on Sunday, despite a ceasefire with the Lebanese government brokered by the US.
The Israeli military had struck "terrorist headquarters" in Beirut in response to earlier shelling of Israel by Iran-backed Hezbollah, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz said.
Hezbollah is Iran's most important non-state ally. Tehran had previously warned that further Israeli attacks on the greater Beirut area would be seen as a new escalation in the regional confrontation.
Hezbollah is not party to the ceasefire agreement and has refused to negotiate with Israel. The Lebanese government is not a party to the war.
Lengthy negotiations brought no breakthrough
Israel and the US began their war against Iran on February 28. Tehran responded with massive attacks on Israel and the Gulf states.
Most recently, Iran fired rockets at Israel during the night into April 8. On the same day, the US and Iran agreed an initial two-week ceasefire that was later extended.
Negotiations between the US and Iran on a lasting end to the war have so far produced no agreement, with major sticking points, including the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, remaining.
The ceasefire in Lebanon, where Israel has been fighting against the Hezbollah militia, was announced in mid-April.
Last week, Israel and Lebanon agreed a renewed attempt to implement the pause in fighting, which has so far been largely ineffective in practice.
The Lebanese government is not a party to the war. The Hezbollah militia does not negotiate with Israel and rejected the agreed conditions.
