Israel and Iran step back from renewed conflict after Trump calls for halt

A fallen Iranian rocket on the outskirts of Jericho. Photograph: Ahmad Gharabli/AFP/Getty Images View image in fullscreen A fallen Iranian rocket on the outskirts of Jericho. Photograph: Ahmad Gharabli/AFP/Getty Images Israel and Iran step back from renewed conflict after Trump calls for halt Netanyahu acknowledges pause in fighting in TV speech but vows forceful response to future attacks Middle East crisis – live updates Fears of a return to a full-scale regional war in the Middle East eased on Monday as Israel and Iran said they had halted attacks on each other after an appeal from Donald Trump to “immediately stop shooting”. Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, acknowledged the halt in fighting with Iran in a televised speech, but vowed to respond “with force” to future attacks. “At present, the fire on this front has been halted, because after the terrorist regime in Tehran was struck, it stopped attacking us,” Netanyahu said. “If that terrorist regime makes the mistake of attacking us again, we will respond with force.” Iran war: who is fighting and why? Read more The recent wave of Iranian ballistic missile attacks on Israel and retaliatory strikes by Israeli warplanes on Iran marked the most direct confrontation since an April ceasefire. Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi rebels also fired at Israel and warned they would target Israeli-affiliated ships in the Red Sea, further escalating tension. Any new “ceasefire within the ceasefire” is very fragile, analysts say, with multiple flashpoints that could lead to fresh exchanges of strikes and missile barrages at any moment. Israeli officials have rejected repeated Iranian efforts to link any definitive ceasefire to Israel stopping its offensive in Lebanon against Hezbollah, which has close ties with Tehran. On Monday, Israel’s defence minister said Israel would continue to operate against Hezbollah in Lebanon and strike Beirut if the militant Islamist movement attacked Israel. “Any Iranian attempt to link Lebanon and Iran and attack Israel will be met with great force, as happened yesterday,” Israel Katz said. Israel’s attacks on the southern suburbs of Beirut, a stronghold of Hezbollah, triggered Iran’s missile barrages on Sunday. Iran also remained defiant. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s parliamentary speaker and most senior negotiator, warned on Monday that Tehran would not tolerate what it called “repeated violation”. “So long as you lack a genuine willingness to build trust, Iran’s response will remain the same,” he posted on X. View image in fullscreen Smoke rises near Iran’s Mahshahr petrochemical complex after a reported Israeli attack. Photograph: Social Media/Reuters Trump has leaned on Israel to stop its attacks in Lebanon to allow room for a deal to end the wider war with Iran, including an obscenities-filled rebuke of Netanyahu in a phone call last week. However, the Israeli prime minister faces an election later this year and is under domestic pressure to continue efforts t