Iran’s top military command Khatam al-Anbiya central headquarters has announced the end of current attacks on Israel, but warned of a sharper response if Israeli strikes — “including in southern Lebanon” — continue, Ada Derana reported.
If Israeli attacks resume, Iran will respond “more severe and forceful than before,” the command said. The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) said it had launched a missile attack on a petrochemical plant in northern Israel, after the Israeli military said it had launched strikes on “several targets” at an Iranian petrochemical facility. The IDF separately said it had completed a large-scale strike on “strategic defence systems” in Iran, while the IRGC said it had targeted two Israeli air bases, Iranian media reported.
The suspension follows an overnight and morning exchange that began after Tehran ordered operations in response to Israel’s Sunday airstrikes on Beirut. Iran’s Ramat David airbase missile salvo and a second wave intercepted by Israeli defences prompted Israeli strikes on multiple targets in western and central Iran on Monday. Hezbollah said on Monday morning it had also fired rockets at Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon, where the IDF has resumed ground operations against the group.
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told reporters the United States “bears responsibility” for the escalating aggression from Israel and warned consequences would “also be on the US”. He said the exchange of messages between Iran and the United States “had not stopped,” but did not clarify whether the channel had remained open during the exchanges.
US President Donald Trump earlier on Monday said the two sides were “looking to do an immediate CEASEFIRE.” In a Truth Social post, he wrote: “Final negotiations on ‘Peace’ are proceeding, subject to ignorance or stupidity getting in its way. The Blockade will remain in place, and in full force and effect, until a ‘Final Deal’ is reached. Things should move quickly.” The remarks came hours after he told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a phone call not to strike back after Iran’s Ramat David volley, telling Axios “we are very close to a final deal.”
The de-escalation is far from guaranteed. The state-affiliated Tasnim news agency cited an unnamed Iranian “military source” as saying Tehran was “prepared for a long-term war” with Israel and US interests in the region. “Necessary arrangements for this matter have been fully devised,” the source said, adding that Iran would “raise the level of tension” and that “the coming days will show that calculations of the Israelis and Americans are always wrong.” A separate Israeli military official said on Monday that the IDF was preparing for at least several days of fighting with Iran and the possibility of a prolonged campaign.
The exchange follows the June 7 US move to redirect frozen Iranian assets to Gulf reconstruction, which Tehran rejected, and a continuing US-Iranian naval standoff in the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran has blocked most shipping and Washington has maintained a blockade of Iranian ports.
