Middle East crisis live: Iran announces end of attacks against Israel as Trump claims both sides want ‘immediate ceasefire’

A senior Hezbollah official has said that the group has not had any “direct contact” with US president Donald Trump.

Despite recent statements from the US leader suggesting otherwise, AFP reports that a senior official from the group claims that they did not have any direct contact with the president.

Senior Hezbollah official Mahmud Qomati told the agency in a written response that “there has been no direct contact between President Trump and Hezbollah officials.”

This comes after Trump told reporters last Wednesday that “we actually spoke with Hezbollah for the first time, ever.”

Two days earlier, after Israel threatened to again bomb Beirut’s southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold, Trump said that “through highly placed Representatives, I had a very good call with Hezbollah.”

Qomati said that the president was “perhaps” referring to the fact that parliament speaker Nabih Berri’s adviser “communicates with the US ambassador and passes on messages”.

Washington considers Hezbollah a “terrorist” group, including both its military and political wings.

Iran’s armed forces have announced an end of military of operations against Israel, but have warned of harsher attacks if Israel resumes attacks on Lebanon, according to the Fars news agency. We have not been able to independently verify this report yet and Israel has not issued a comment in response.

The Khatam ol-Anbiya Central Headquarters was quoted as saying that “in support of the oppressed people of Lebanon” Iran gave a “painful response” to Israel after it attacked the southern suburbs of Beirut yesterday.

“Accordingly, a halt to the operations of the armed forces is announced; but it is emphasized that if the aggressions and evils continue, including in southern Lebanon, much more severe and crushing measures will be on the way.”

In a Truth Social post, Donald Trump said Israel and Iran are “looking to do an immediate ceasefire” and that “final negotiations on peace” are under way, without giving any further details.

He said the US blockade of Iranian ports – put in place to counter Iran’s effective closure of the strait of Hormuz – will remain in place until a final deal is secured. “Things should move quickly,” Trump added.

In an earlier Truth Social post, Trump said Israel and Iran must immediately stop “shooting”.

Israel has carried out nearly 3,500 airstrikes on Lebanon and hundreds of controlled explosions since the US announced a ceasefire for the country in mid April, Lebanon’s prime minister Nawaf Salam said.

Salam said Lebanon was striving to uphold the ceasefire but that the latest Iran-Israel had caused additional waves of displacement, straining Lebanon’s ability to host fleeing families.

At least 3,613 people have been killed in Israeli attacks on Lebanon since the start of the war on 2 March, according to the country’s health ministry. Israel’s renewed war on Lebanon was triggered in response to Hezbollah firing rockets at northern Israel after the US and Israel killed the former Iranian supreme leader in Tehran on 28 February.

More than 1 million people have already been displaced by the renewed Israeli war on Lebanon, triggering a major refugee and humanitarian crisis.

In an extremely short post on his Truth Social platform, Donald Trump demanded Israel and Iran to “immediately stop shooting”.

Trump has leaned on Israel to stop its attacks on Lebanon to allow room for a deal to end the wider war with Iran. However, Israel launched strikes on the southern suburbs of Beirut yesterday, apparently ignoring the US president’s warning not to.

Benjamin Netanyahu, who is facing domestic political pressure to continue his war on Lebanon, particularly from far-right elements of his fragile coalition, is therefore derailing peace talks but escaping any serious reprimand for doing so from Washington. Netanyahu is trailing in the polls heading into a challenging re-election fight.

The Israeli army said it is preparing for at least several days of “fighting” with Iran, or a prolonged “campaign”, according to a military statement being carried by the Israeli newspaper Hareetz.

It said the strikes are only being carried out by Israel, but noted there is “full coordination” with US Central Command, as the US military has helped in the interception of missiles fired by Iran at Israel.

The Israeli military said Hezbollah has not joined the fighting with strikes against Israel, but stressed it is ready for the possibility it may do so.

We are seeing reports of explosions being heard in the Iranian capital of Tehran. We don’t have many details yet but will provide updates as soon as more information comes in.

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, said the US holds direct responsibility for the recent ceasefire breaches, adding that ⁠⁠Israel’s military actions ⁠⁠cannot ⁠⁠be ‌‌separated ‌‌from ‌‌US policies.

“The actions of the Zionist entity within the region cannot be looked at in isolation from the United States,” Baghaei was quoted as having said at a press conference.

“No one believes that the Israeli regime would take any action without coordination with the United States,” he said. “The United States bears responsibility for the Israeli regime’s aggression, and it will also be responsible for the consequences of any escalation in tensions.”

Israel launched strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs on Sunday in what Tehran viewed as a violation of the US-Iran ceasefire. Israel claimed it was targeting Hezbollah infrastructure after it said the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group fired rockets at northern Israel. The Israeli attack hit two apartments in two separate buildings, Lebanon’s state news agency reported, killing two people.

Iran launched missiles at Israel on Sunday in response to the Israeli strikes and a fresh exchange of fire has been reported between the two sides today.

The latest exchange came even after the US president, Donald Trump, reportedly told the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to refrain from attacks on Iran. Netanyahu shows no signs of wanting to stop the war on Lebanon, which makes it hard to see how Trump can negotiate an end to the war on Iran as Tehran insists that the conflict can only end when attacks on “all fronts” have ceased.

The Israeli military said Monday that it had detected a new barrage of missiles launched from Iran, the sixth salvo since the latest flare-up in fighting began the previous day.

“A short while ago, the IDF identified missiles launched from Iran towards the territory of the State of Israel. Defensive systems are operating to intercept the threat,” the military said.

Yemen announced that it had joined the war for the first time since the 8 April ceasefire. The Houthi leadership fired missiles towards Jaffa Israel and said Israeli linked commercial shipping would be blocked entering the Red Sea, a decision that will unnerve other shipping.

Iranian officials had earlier suggested the revival of the blockade of Bab al-Mandab strait for Israeli linked shipping was being considered by the Houthi leadership.

In a statement Yemen’s Houthi leadership also known as Ansar Allah Yemen said “We declare a complete and absolute ban on maritime navigation for the Israeli enemy in the Red Sea and believe that any enemy movement from the moment this statement is announced will be a military target for our armed forces.

“We will respond to escalation with escalation, and our military operations will be increasingly coordinated with events, battles, and participation in the axis of jihad and resistance”.

The Houthis for internal reasons has been reluctant to join the US-Iran conflict preferring to hold talks with Saudi Arabia about reuniting Yemen.

Aliakbar Velayati adviser to Iran’s supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei had earlier warned “today’s security of the Ban al-Mandab strait should not cause the enemy to make a miscalculation; the resistance rings have the power to close both waterways

“The choice is yours; stop the folly or enter into a regulated balance of the two straits”. The joint closure of the strait of Hormuz and Bab al-Mandab has the capacity to sabotage the flow of East West flow of commercial naval traffic.

Iranian officials admitted Israeli strikes hit the Karun Petrochemical Company in the Petrochemical Special Economic Zone.

Iran said the attacks did not result in any casualties, but “the extent of damage and possible injuries is under investigation.”

Abbas Araghchi the foreign minister through the night was in contact with fellow diplomats to explain Iran’s decision to restart its assault on Israel. He spoke with the Uk foreign minister Yvette Cooper and the Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan as well as the Saudi foreign minister

Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi rebels have claimed an attack on Israel and say Israel-affiliated vessels would again be a target in the Red Sea, Associated Press reports.

The statement from Brig Gen Yahya Saree was broadcast on the Houthis’ al-Masirah satellite news channel on Monday.

It’s another new escalation as the nominal ceasefire in the Iran war is being challenged by crossfire between Israel and Iran.

The Houthi threat to target vessels again puts the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the narrow Bab el-Mandeb Strait connected them in danger.

The Houthis during the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip killed at least nine mariners and sunk four ships across over 100 attacks. Those assaults upended shipping in the Red Sea , through which about $1 trillion of goods passed each year before the war.