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Israel and Iran trade strikes, threatening to drag region back to war
+493 words added -551 words removed
Special Series Middle East conflict Conflict in the Middle East has been escalating. These stories provide context for current developments and the history that led up to them.
Greg Myre
A man looks at the wreckage of an Iranian missile that landed near the West Bank city of Jericho on Monday.
The missile exchanges marked a major escalation that came on the 100th day of a war that began on Feb. 28. Yet this was only part of increased military action in recent days that has also included the U.S., several Arab Gulf countries and the militant Lebanese group Hezbollah.
The Israeli military said it had shot down the incoming fire. Falling debris ignited brush fires, but no damage or injuries were reported. Israel ordered schools closed on Monday as a precautionary measure.
"He won't have any choice," Trump said of Netanyahu. "I call the shots. I call all the shots. He doesn't call the shots."
But Israel made clear it would hit back.
Rami Shlush/AP hide caption
In the early hours of Monday, Israel unleashed missile strikes on Iran. Dozens of Israeli warplanes took part in the operation that focused mostly on Iranian air defenses that were being restored after the earlier fighting, Israel's military said.
Iranian citizens reported explosions in the capital Tehran, as well as Isfahan and Tabriz. The Iranian media reported that the country's airports had been shut down.
The Israeli military also said it hit several targets at a huge petrochemical complex in Mahshahr, in southwestern Iran.
In another development, the Iran-backed Houthi militant group in Yemen said they fired missiles at Israel, prompting another round of sirens in the Tel Aviv area. There were no reports of the missiles hitting any targets.
The Houthis also said they would prevent Israeli-linked ships from sailing in the Red Sea. The Houthis disrupted shipping traffic in the Red Sea for two years, from the fall of 2023 to the fall of 2025, in a show of solidarity with the Palestinians over the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
World Israel has reportedly used white phosphorus near Lebanese cities and towns. What is it?
Most of the shooting exchanges had involved either the U.S. and Iran, or Israel and Hezbollah.
The direct attacks between Israel and Iran further complicate the efforts to end the fighting.
The Israel-Hezbollah conflict has been particularly intense. Israel last month invaded southern Lebanon to the deepest point in 26 years and now has a large force operating in that territory.
However, the Lebanese government army is not strong enough to control Hezbollah, which rejected the agreement, saying it amounted to the group's surrender.
Israel says two civilians have been killed in Hezbollah attacks.
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− Mahmoud Illean/AP hide caption
TEL AVIV, Israel — Israel and Iran exchanged missile fire in the first such attacks between the two bitter rivals since a Middle East ceasefire was declared two months ago. President Trump on Monday called on both countries to stop the attacks.
+ Mahmoud Illean/AP hide caption
TEL AVIV, Israel — Israel and Iran both pledged Monday to stop attacking each other, a move that came only hours after they exchanged missile fire and ratcheted up tensions throughout the Middle East.
− "Israel and Iran must immediately stop 'shooting,'" Trump wrote on social media.
+ However, even as they made public pronouncements to de-escalate, both countries cited conditions that could lead to a resumption of hostilities.
− Shortly afterward, Iran's military said it was halting further attacks for now, saying Israel had "learned a lesson."
In Israel, an official said that Israel agreed to stop attacking Iran, but the military would continue to operate in Lebanon. The official was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to NPR on condition of anonymity.
+ Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video that Israel's fire against Iran is "on hold." But he added, "should the [Iranian] terror regime make the mistake of returning to attack us, we will respond with force — because Israel has every right to self-defense."
Also, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said troops would continue to operate in Lebanon against the militant group Hezbollah.
− Trump then took to social media again and said, "Both sides, Israel and Iran, are looking to do an immediate CEASEFIRE!
+ Meanwhile, Iran cited Israel's operations against Hezbollah as the reason it unleashed a missile barrage on Israel, first on Sunday night and again on Monday morning.
Iran's military said it was halting further attacks for now, saying Israel had "learned a lesson."
But Iran warned that if Israel kept up attacks in Lebanon, Iran's military would respond with "much harsher and more forceful actions than before."
Israel and Iran made their announcements after President Trump took to social media on Monday morning, urging both countries to stop "shooting."
"Both sides, Israel and Iran, are looking to do an immediate CEASEFIRE!
− Final negotiations on "Peace" are proceeding, subject to ignorance or stupidity getting in its way."
Trump has been claiming for weeks that a deal was within reach, even as the ceasefire declared on April 8 was increasingly fragile.
+ Final negotiations on 'Peace' are proceeding, subject to ignorance or stupidity getting in its way," Trump said on Truth Social.
+ Trump has been claiming for weeks that a deal with Iran was within reach, even as the ceasefire declared on April 8 was increasingly fragile.
− Iran's Revolutionary Guard said its missiles late Sunday night and Monday morning targeted three military air bases in Israel, two in the center of the country and one in the north.
+ Iran's Revolutionary Guard said its missiles targeted three military air bases in Israel, two of them in the center of the country and one in the north.
− Altogether, Iran launched nearly 30 ballistic missiles at Israel, according to the Israel military.
+ Altogether, Iran launched nearly 30 ballistic missiles at Israel, according to the Israeli military.
− Middle East conflict Trump confirms calling Netanyahu 'crazy,' says they still get along Trump told Britain's Financial Times that his message to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was not to fire back on Iran, and Netanyahu had no option but to accept.
+ Middle East conflict Trump confirms calling Netanyahu 'crazy,' says they still get along Trump told Britain's Financial Times that his message to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday night was not to fire back on Iran, and Netanyahu had no option but to accept.
− "Iran fired 11 ballistic missiles at Israel," Israel's ambassador to the U.S., Yechiel Leiter, said on X after the first wave of Iranian attacks.
+ Israeli security forces examine a fragment of an intercepted Iranian missile in northern Israel early Monday.
− "No self-respecting country in the world would tolerate such an attack, and neither will Israel. Israel is now targeting Iranian surface-to-surface missile launch sites."
Israeli security forces examine a fragment of an intercepted Iranian missile in northern Israel, early Monday, June 8, 2026.
− The workers at the plant were evacuated, the Iran media said.
+ The workers at the plant were evacuated, Iranian media said.
− A recent increase in attacks The two-month-old ceasefire has been fraying with missile and drone attacks picking up in recent days across the region.
+ A recent increase in attacks The 2-month-old ceasefire has been fraying with missile and drone attacks picking up in recent days across the region.
− It has been fighting the militant group Hezbollah, which Iran helped establish to counter Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon and stills support.
+ It has been fighting Hezbollah, which Iran helped establish to counter Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon.
− Israeli and the Lebanese officials met in Washington last week and agreed to renew the earlier ceasefire that had collapsed.
+ Israeli and Lebanese officials met in Washington last week and agreed to renew the earlier ceasefire that had collapsed.
− The agreement stipulates that Hezbollah, but not Israel stop attacks and does not include an Israeli withdrawal from occupied areas.
+ The agreement stipulates that Hezbollah, but not Israel, stop attacks and does not include an Israeli withdrawal from occupied areas.
− Israeli attacks in Lebanon since the war began on March 2 have killed 3,600 people, including hundreds of women and children, according to Lebanon's health ministry.
+ Israeli attacks in Lebanon since the war began on March 2 have killed 3,600 people, including hundreds of women and children, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry.
− Iran had been warning it might act against Israel due to its ongoing attacks against Hezbollah.
+ NPR's Jane Arraf contributed reporting from Beirut.
− A series of events escalated rapidly on Sunday. In the morning, Hezbollah fired rockets into northern Israel.
Hours later, Israel launched airstrikes against Hezbollah strongholds in the southern suburbs of Beirut.
By late night, Iran unleashed its missile barrage against Israel, and Israel fired back early Monday morning.
Officials in countries throughout the region — including Pakistan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Turkey — have been holding a series of phone calls in an attempt to calm the region.
NPR's Jane Arraf contributed reporting from Beirut, Lebanon.