Iran’s military said it halted operations after a sharp exchange with Israel, testing a fragile truce on the war’s 101st day.
Iran’s military said Monday it had halted operations after a sharp exchange of fire with Israel, a development that followed President Trump’s public demand that both sides “immediately stop ‘shooting’” and move toward a ceasefire.
The announcement marked a possible pause in the most serious flare-up in weeks in a war already under a fragile truce. But the situation remained unsettled: Iran warned it could respond more forcefully if what it called aggression and provocations continued, including in southern Lebanon, while Israeli media reported that Israel had suspended attacks on Iran but would continue operations against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.
The latest escalation began Sunday when Israel struck Beirut’s southern suburbs, saying it was targeting Iranian-backed Hezbollah. The strikes came despite Washington’s opposition, according to the CBS News live report. Iran then launched drones and missiles at Israel, and Israel responded with its own strikes as the back-and-forth continued into Monday.
In a Truth Social post, Trump said Israel and Iran were seeking an “immediate CEASEFIRE” and that final negotiations on peace were underway. He said a blockade would remain “in full force and effect” until a final deal was reached.
Iran’s central military command, Khatam Al-Anbia, said it had delivered what it called a “painful response” to Israel’s strikes in Lebanon before announcing a halt. Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, later wrote on X that Tehran had “neither abandoned the field nor the negotiating table,” framing military action and diplomacy as parallel parts of national policy.
The pause came as diplomatic pressure built. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, whose government has been trying to mediate between Iran and the United States, said a diplomatic solution was “just about to be achieved” and urged all sides to “give peace a little more chance.”
The conflict also showed signs of widening beyond the direct Israel-Iran exchange. Yemen’s Houthi rebels said they were banning Israeli vessels from key Red Sea shipping lanes and announced a missile attack on Israel. European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the bloc planned new sanctions on Iran over restrictions on maritime traffic, including activity in the Strait of Hormuz.
The immediate test is whether Monday’s announced halt holds, whether Israel limits its response to Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, and whether the diplomatic talks Trump and regional mediators described can turn the pause into a more durable ceasefire.
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