Tension Rises Again As Israel Strikes Iranian Sites Despite Trump’s Ceasefire Order
After United States president, Donald Trump, claimed Israel had called off the mission at his behest to preserve a fragile ceasefire, Fresh Israeli airstrikes targeted Iranian sites near Tehran on Tuesday.
The surprise strikes have reignited fears of a full-scale regional war, further complicating international mediation efforts, according to Reuters.
Iranian state-affiliated judiciary outlet Mizan reported two explosions were heard in the capital, while Israeli Army Radio confirmed that Israeli forces had bombed a radar installation near Tehran.
The Israeli military has yet to issue an official statement.
The strikes come despite Trump’s assertion on Truth Social that he had successfully convinced Israel to abort the planned offensive.
“All planes will turn around and head home, while doing a friendly ‘Plane Wave’ to Iran. Nobody will be hurt, the Ceasefire is in effect!” Trump posted.
Earlier in the day, Trump had publicly criticised both Israel and Iran for undermining the hours-old ceasefire but reserved particular condemnation for Israel.
He accused the Netanyahu-led government of launching an excessive retaliatory campaign in response to a single missile strike that “might have been unintentional.”
“Israel. Do not drop those bombs. If you do it, it is a major violation. Bring your pilots home, now!” Trump warned in a Truth Social post before departing the White House for a NATO summit in The Hague.
Speaking to reporters before boarding Marine One, Trump said, “I’ve got to get Israel to calm down now,” adding that the long-running conflict between the two adversaries had spiraled into chaos. “Iran and Israel have been fighting so long and so hard that they don’t know what the f*** they’re doing,” he remarked bluntly.
According to Israeli media and Axios, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke by phone with Trump before the strikes. Reports suggest that while Trump demanded a total cancellation, Netanyahu only agreed to scale back the bombing campaign. As of press time, there has been no official statement from the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office.
Earlier on Tuesday, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz announced that he had ordered the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to resume military strikes on “key Iranian targets” in Tehran. Katz described the response as necessary following what he called Iran’s “blatant violation” of the ceasefire by launching missiles.
Iranian authorities denied any missile launch occurred, instead accusing Israel of breaching the ceasefire agreement and initiating unprovoked attacks. Iranian sources claimed that Israeli strikes continued for over 90 minutes after the ceasefire was scheduled to take effect.
“The Zionist regime is fabricating claims to justify continued aggression,” a senior Iranian military official said on state television.
The renewed Israeli airstrikes risk derailing already-tenuous diplomatic efforts to de-escalate one of the most volatile flashpoints in the Middle East. Analysts warn that continued military engagement between the two nuclear-capable nations could draw in regional allies and provoke a broader war.
The United Nations and European Union have called for immediate restraint, urging both sides to honor the ceasefire agreement brokered earlier this week by international mediators, including France and Qatar.
