Iran Announces 'Cessation' of Israel Strikes
BBC News
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Iran has announced that it will stop striking Israel after the countries exchanged fire for the first time since April
But a statement from the country's top military command headquarters warns that it will carry out a "more severe" response if Israel continues striking southern Lebanon
It comes after Donald Trump told Iran and Israel to stop "shooting" and said the two countries were "looking to do an immediate ceasefire"
Israel has now reportedly agreed to stop attacking Iran "at Trump's request" – though that has not been confirmed
Israel carried out air strikes in western and central Iran after Iran began firing missiles at Israel on Sunday
The Middle East is in turmoil on every level – and there is no sign of that turmoil easing, says our international editor Jeremy Bowen
Edited by Jamie Whitehead and Andrew Humphrey
Bernd Debusmann Jr
White House reporter
A White House official has confirmed to the BBC that President Trump called Netanyahu to discuss the Iran-Israel exchanges of fire.
No further details have been provided.
Earlier, Israel's Channel 12 news outlet reported that Israel would stop attacks on Iran "at Trump's request", citing a senior Israeli official.
The IDF says a projectile struck an area in southern Lebanon where its soldiers are operating.
The strike triggered sirens in the nearby area of Zar'it, close to the border in northern Israel, but no injuries were reported, it added in a statement on Telegram.
In a few moments, our correspondents will be answering your questions live.
Among those will be our diplomatic correspondent Caroline Hawley, Siavash Ardalan from BBC Persian, North America correspondent Tomos Morgan in Washington DC and Samira Hussain.
You can watch along by clicking Watch live above.
After the exchange of strikes between Iran and Israel reports are emerging that both countries will halt attacks against the other.
Meanwhile, a semblance of normality is present in daily life in Tehran, as these pictures from today show:
A woman walks down a busy street in Tehran
People attend a market selling toys and flowers
A woman walks past a site of rubble in Tehran
People in Tehran walk through the streets buying groceries
Our colleagues at BBC Persian have been hearing from people in Iran today.
One person says that Iranians are "exhausted" as they ask "both sides to end the war".
"People will suffer greatly in all this, whether they support it or oppose it," another adds.
"But the reality is that Iran, our homeland, is becoming a victim of greed and excessive ambitions."
One man says he is "constantly worried" the internet will be cut off – "and we don't know where this war is heading".
Another person says: "The country's situation is already chaotic, and people are paying an even greater price for this endless conflict between Iran and America. Most people just hope it ends as soon as possible so the country can return to some degree of stability."
Pakistan's prime minister Shehbaz Sharif is urging "all sides" to exercise restraint in the pursuit of peace, especially when "the final objective is just about to be achieved", in a message on social media.
Iran's military said it would stop strikes on Israel earlier, but warned that if attacks on Lebanon continue that it would respond more severely than before. Israeli media has also reported that Israel would stop attacks on Iran "at Trump's request".
In a post on X, Shehbaz says: "The recent surge in violence in the Middle East is a stark reminder of the dangers associated with a tenuous ceasefire and the unbearable consequences it may lead to.
"As we work earnestly and painstakingly, together with our brothers and partners, to find a peaceful diplomatic solution to the conflict, and especially when the final objective is just about to be achieved, we sincerely urge all sides to exercise restraint and give peace a little more chance."
Pakistan has been a key mediator between Iran and the US.
One round of negotiations between Iranian and US delegations mediated through Pakistan happened on 11-12 April in Islamabad.
The capital prepared for further talks later that month though these did not materialise.
Ghoncheh Habibiazad
Senior reporter, BBC Persian
Iran Airports and Air Navigation Company has said in a statement that all flights in Iran have been cancelled until further notice.
A spokesperson for Iran’s Civil Aviation Organisation announced last night that the western part of the country's airspace had been closed.
Iran had started resuming some of its passenger flights from late April, following the ceasefire agreement between Iran and the US on 8 April.
The country had largely closed its airspace after US and Israeli strikes on 28 February when the war started.
Some of Iran’s airports, including Tehran’s Mehrabad, were attacked during the war.
Satellite images shows Mehrabad Airport in Tehran, Iran, before (above) and after (below) a reported attack in early March
Kaja Kallas is the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
The European Union (EU)'s foreign policy chief says member states have sanctioned Iran over "restricting naval traffic" in the Strait of Hormuz.
In a post on X, Kaja Kallas says: "The Middle East is stuck in phases of peace talks and fragile ceasefires.
"Tehran's drones continue to threaten maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz. Ministers were clear that Iran's actions are unacceptable.
"In response, EU Member States in Brussels today sanctioned Iranians over restricting naval traffic in the Strait."
She says the EU has sanctioned Iranian individuals and entities involved in the disruption.
AFP reports that this includes blacklisting Mohammad Akbarzadeh, spokesman for the naval arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and placing Hamid Hosseini, a representative of Iran's oil exporters union, under an asset freeze and visa ban.
Kallas says this is the first time the EU is applying its new freedom of navigation sanctions regime.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says three missiles targeting its forces in southern Lebanon were launched from the country by the Iran-backed Hezbollah group .
The military says "some of the launches were intercepted" before crossing into Israeli territory while another "fell near the forces", adding that there were no casualties.
It adds that sirens were activated as a result of the incident, with the military's Home Front Command telling residents of several settlements in the north of Israel to enter protected areas.
Residents were told they can leave the protected areas in another update issued about four minutes later.
Israel is stopping attacks on Iran "at Trump's request", Israel's Channel 12 news outlet reports, citing a senior Israeli official.
The report adds that Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon will continue if Hezbollah attacks Israel.
There have been reports in both Israeli and US media of a phone call between Trump and Netanyahu held today, though details of what was discussed have not been released.
Wyre Davies
reporting from Tel Aviv
I visited Tel Aviv’s Habima Square before the latest Iranian announcement that it would be stopping military strikes on Israel.
It’s a pleasant summer’s day, people sit in cafes chatting over coffee while their children play around the ornamental pool.
You’d be forgiven for thinking that Israel wasn’t really on the brink of a dangerous escalation in its war with Iran.
But the kids are the giveaway – they’re not in school today, nor will they be tomorrow as schools across the country remain closed following last night’s Iranian missile attack.
Eyal tells the BBC he doesn't really support war but that "sometimes there is no option"
"I want peace, yesterday!" says Eyal, a father and lawyer who works around the corner between the square and the beach.
"But I think that with our neighbours in the region the only way to get them to speak is to show them how strong we are," he continues as he prepares to head back to the office on his bike.
"I really don’t support war but sometimes you have no option."
His reluctant, qualified support for Israeli military action against Iran isn’t shared by Flora, an IT worker who also stopped to talk while walking near the square.
Flora says she is not optimistic about the situation
"We’ve lived in this nightmare for years and I don’t see a solution," she says.
When I asked her about the threats Israel faces from Iran and Hezbollah and the fact many Israelis support their government’s war aims, she disagrees.
"War only brings short-term relief, but not in the long run because we’ll soon be at war again. They come and go, so no I don’t agree with Netanyahu’s war aims at all."
It’s a snapshot of how conflicted and confused people sometimes here feel about the prospect of an extended war on several fronts.
It’s a scenario that no-one I spoke to on this balmy summer’s day in Tel Aviv wants. But how to avoid it is something they can’t agree on.
Iran's president says the country has "neither abandoned the field nor the negotiating table".
Masoud Pezeshkian says in a post on X that the country's priority is "national security and the peace of our people", adding that it would "not retreat in the face of any threat".
The comments came after Iran’s top military command Khatam al-Anbiya central headquarters announced the cessation of its "armed forces operations", adding that it would respond "more severe and forceful than before" if attacks continued.
Siavash Ardalan
BBC Persian senior reporter
The only positive aspect of direct hostilities between Iran and Israel resuming for ordinary Iranians was that the internet has not been automatically cut off.
It remains online after only a week of connectivity following three months of digital darkness.
The other good news is that no civilian casualties have been reported so far.
Only the loud sounds of distant explosions suggest that the focus of the Israeli attacks has been military bases outside Iran’s urban centres.
The only non-military target so far has been an Iranian petrochemical plant in the province of Khuzestan, which was also hit in the previous round of fighting, resulting in no reported casualties.
Iran said it responded by firing missiles at Israel’s petrochemical plant in the city of Haifa.
Workers clean debris following Israeli air strikes in southern Lebanon on Sunday
Iran’s top military command Khatam al-Anbiya central headquarters has just announced the end of current attacks on Israel.
But they have warned that if Israeli attacks continue, "including in southern Lebanon," Iran will respond "more severe and forceful than before".
Let's look back at the key developments of the last day.
Israel and Iran exchanged strikes last night and into today after Iran announced military operations in response to Israel's air strikes on Beirut in Lebanon on Sunday.
Hezbollah said this morning that it had fired rockets at a group of Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon, where the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is carrying out ground operations in what it says is an attempt to stop Hezbollah firing rockets at northern Israel.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) claimed it launched a missile attack on a petrochemical plant in northern Israel, according to state media, after the Israeli military said it launched strikes on "several targets" at an Iranian petrochemical facility.
The IDF also 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 in Israel, according to Iranian media.
Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei says the US bears responsibility for aggression from Israel and that consequences of escalating tensions will "also be on the US".
He also said that the exchange of messages between Iran and the US "had not stopped", but did not clarify whether the exchange of messages has been happening since yesterday or not.
Earlier today Donald Trump said Israel and Iran are looking to do an "immediate ceasefire" and that things should move quickly. He previously said that Iran and Israel must stop "shooting" immediately.Ghoncheh Habibiazad
Senior reporter, BBC Persian
Iran’s top military command Khatam al-Anbiya central headquarters has said in a statement that “the cessation of armed forces operations is hereby announced”.
But they have warned in the same statement that if the attacks continue, “including in southern Lebanon,” Iran will respond “more severe and forceful than before".
Iran started its operations yesterday in response to Israel attacking southern Beirut. Israel retaliated by attacking Iran.
Senior Iranian political and military officials had issued warnings yesterday evening that Iran would respond militarily to what they described as breaches of ceasefire.
Iran has maintained that they see the ceasefire in Lebanon as part of the ceasefire with Iran as well.
By Sarah Jalali and Shayan Sardarizadeh
We’ve just verified two videos showing a cloud of smoke rising over a petrochemical plant in south-western Iran after Israeli strikes.
In one video, taken from inside a moving vehicle, we can see smoke billowing out from the Karun plant in the port city of Bandar-e Mahshahr. In another clip filmed nearby, smoke can be seen rising rising over four of the site’s spherical storage tanks.
As we just reported, the Israel Defence Forces confirmed that it targeted the plant in a post on X, claiming that it is “producing raw materials for the Iranian terror regime's missile program”.
The governor of Khuzestan province told Iranian media that the plant had sustained damage after the strike, but no casualties had been reported.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says its strikes on an Iranian petrochemical facility in Mahshahr were aimed at destroying infrastructure involved in the production of missiles.
It claims the site was used by Iranian armed forces "to produce and export raw materials for weapons production" and these materials "serve as critical components for the development of ballistic missiles".
The strikes on Mahshahr, in the south-west of Iran, were confirmed by the IDF and Iranian state media, although neither have commented on whether there were any casualties.
Smoke rises near Mahshahr petrochemical complex after reported Israeli attack
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Lyse Doucet
Chief international correspondent
It used to be said that Iran prided itself on “strategic patience”, responding to actions against it at a time of its own choosing.
A new approach is playing out now in its attacks on Israel and its response to Israeli actions in Lebanon. The new leadership which emerged in Tehran this year took a lesson from last year’s 12-day war with Israel: restraint will be seen as weakness.
“They’re accusing us of being naïve,” an Iranian official told me of the hardliners’ criticism shortly after that confrontation ended.
Now those critics are calling the shots. Iran’s cautious supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, assassinated on the first day of this war, no longer sets the rules.
Iran, which had long tried to avoid a direct war with Washington, has now seen that war close-up.
Even more, despite its major military and economic cost, Tehran survived.
And, after decades of a “forward defence” strategy which relied on proxies and partners like Lebanon’s Hezbollah to prevent conflicts from reaching Iran, now Tehran is attacking in defence of its ally.
War is creating a new kind of conflict.
US President Donald Trump has said final negotiations on "peace" are proceeding but are "subject to ignorance or stupidity getting in its way".
He says in a post on Truth Social: "Both sides, Israel and Iran, are looking to do an immediate CEASEFIRE!"
"The Blockade will remain in place, and in full force and effect, until a 'Final Deal' is reached. Things should move quickly," he adds.
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