Tehran launches ballistic missile assault on Israel; IDF confirms strikes in central Iran

In a tersely worded early-morning Truth Social post on Monday, President Donald Trump demanded that Iran and Israel stop targeting each other, after the two sides have been trading attacks.

"Israel and Iran must immediately stop 'shooting,'" Trump asserted.

The Israel Defense Forces announced that it attacked Iranian defense systems.

"STRUCK: The IDF completed a large-scale strike on strategic defense systems belonging to the Iranian terror regime," the Israel Defense Forces noted in a post on X.

"Recently, defense systems were deployed across Iran to restore the regime’s capabilities degraded during Operation Roaring Lion. The strike led to the dismantling of these systems," the post added.

The Israel Defense Forces said they identified missiles launched from Iran toward Israel and activated air defense systems to intercept the threat.

Home Front Command issued alerts to residents in affected areas, directing civilians to enter protected spaces until further notice.

The missile launch comes shortly after Israel confirmed strikes on targets in western and central Iran, signaling the exchange between the two countries is ongoing.

The Israeli Air Force hit several targets at the petrochemical complex in Mahshahr, located in southwestern Iran.

Fox News' Yael Rotem-Kuriel contributed to this report.

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said Iran wants to "incinerate" America and Israel and that the "mothership of Satan is in Tehran" following Iranian attacks against Israel that triggered a military response from the Jewish State.

"Iran fired missiles at Israel last night & early today," Huckabee wrote on X. "The missile alerts sounded at 6am in Jerusalem. They were intercepted thank God!"

"Iran & its proxy agents of evil want to incinerate America & Israel. Mothership of Satan is in Tehran," he continued.

Israeli's Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter said the Jewish State "is now targeting Iranian surface-to-surface missile launch sites, as well as infrastructure facilities unrelated to the energy sector."

"Iran fired 11 ballistic missiles at Israel today," he wrote on X. "Each one of those missiles can level an entire neighborhood and kill hundreds. No self-respecting country in the world would tolerate such an attack, and neither will Israel."

"The people of Lebanon have rejected Iran’s proxy, Hizballah, and have told Iran to get out of their country," he continued.

Leiter warned that "if Hizballah fires at Israel, its command centers in the Dahiya will be hit hard."

"This has nothing to do with Iran," he said.

"Everyone has had enough of this maniacal Iranian regime," Leiter added.

Houthi forces launched ballistic missiles from Yemen, targeting central Israel, as residents in Tel Aviv rushed to bomb shelters.

The Israeli Defense Forces said they had identified the launch of a missile from Yemen toward Israeli territory, adding that aerial defense systems are operating to intercept the threat. 

This comes after recent attacks between Israel and Iran amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

Fox News' Trey Yingst and Yonat Friling contributed to this report.

Iran has closed its airspace around Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport, the Middle Eastern nation's main airfield, following an Israeli attack.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Missiles, drones and rockets had reportedly entered Jordanian airspace, the U.S. State Department warned Sunday.

“Jordan: Reports indicate missiles, drones and rockets are in Jordanian airspace,” the department said in a statement on X.

“Seek overhead cover and shelter in place immediately. Remain indoors and pay attention to local announcements and alerts,” it added.

The embassy also said it would continue to review the situation and provide additional information as needed.

The warning came as hostilities between Israel and Iran intensified amid missile strikes.

Hospitals throughout Israel have been instructed to move operations to secure underground facilities and mobilize staff as part of a transition to emergency operations following missile attacks from Iran on Sunday.

According to the Times of Israel, the Health Ministry said the order was issued after a situational assessment and in line with Home Front Command guidance.

Hospitals have also been told to prepare for discharging patients who can safely return home, the outlet said.

The Transportation Ministry also said buses across the country will operate at 75% of their normal service level. Schools have been closed. 

U.K. Foreign Minister Yvette Cooper urged Israel and Iran to de-escalate on Sunday after Tehran’s missile attacks on northern Israel.

“The resumption of conflict between Iran and Israel is in no one’s interest. Both sides must show restraint and de-escalate immediately,” Cooper said in a post shared on X.

“Negotiations must continue toward a lasting settlement that we all need for peace and stability in the region and for the full restoration of global trade,” she added.

President Donald Trump said Sunday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would likely have to accept whatever agreement the United States ultimately reaches with Iran.

Speaking to the Financial Times, Trump also said he is ultimately in control of the negotiations.

"He won't have any choice," Trump said of Netanyahu before adding that he "calls the shots."

The interview was published as Iran launched missiles at Israel in its first attack since a ceasefire took effect in April.

The strike raised concerns that the conflict could escalate into broader fighting.

The Israel Defense Forces said all of the missiles were intercepted or landed in uninhabited areas, though explosions were heard in northern Israel.

Israeli military spokesperson Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin also said Iran had made a "grave mistake" by launching the attack, according to reports.

Israel closed all crossings into Gaza Sunday in the wake of missile attacks launched by Tehran, prompting heightened security measures on both sides.

Israel’s military coordination agency, COGAT, said the Kerem Shalom and Rafah crossings would stay shut until further notice.

Iranian authorities also suspended flights at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport indefinitely, Reuters reported.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) chief of staff met with senior military officials Sunday as Israel signaled it was prepared to strike Iran at a moment's notice.

"The IDF chief of the General Staff is currently conducting a situational assessment with senior military officials," the military said in a statement before adding that "the IDF will strike the enemy with determination as soon as the order is given."

This came after Iran launched a series of missile barrages toward Israel, triggering air raid sirens across the country.

Separately, the IDF accused Iran of attempting to open a new front in the conflict and warned that it would not tolerate continued attacks on its citizens.

"The Iranian terrorist regime is attempting to create a new equation and impose new rules by directly firing at our territory in response to the Israeli army's attacks on Dahiyeh—we will not allow such a thing," the IDF said in a post on X.

"In response to Hezbollah's relentless shelling toward settlements and residential areas in northern Israel, we launched an attack," the military said.

"We will not allow attacks against the citizens of the State of Israel to continue. The Israeli army acts powerfully both in defense and offense," it added. Fox News' Yonat Friling contributed to this report.

The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem directed U.S. government employees and their family members to take shelter Sunday following missile barrages from Iran.

“Security Alert: As a result of the current security situation in Israel, including Home Front Command alerts for multiple regions, the U.S. Embassy has directed all U.S. government employees and their family members to shelter in place and be prepared to move to a protected shelter in the event of a red alert until further notice,” the embassy said in a statement.

The embassy also closed its offices after the attack. It said that in the event of missile or rocket fire, or a “hostile aircraft intrusion,” a “red alert” siren may be activated.

The embassy also urged people to follow instructions from local authorities and the Israeli Home Front Command.

President Donald Trump said Sunday that Israel should not retaliate against Iran following it's missile barrage, arguing that further action could jeopardize ongoing negotiations.

"We don't need another one," Trump told Axios after the Iranian attack before saying he planned to call Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

"The Iranian strikes didn't hurt anybody. Hopefully Israel is not going to retaliate," Trump told the outlet.

"If Bibi strikes them back, it's just gonna keep going like the last 47 years, or the last 3,000 years," the president added.

Trump reiterated that Washington was close to reaching an agreement and warned that escalating tensions could derail the effort.

"We are very close to a final deal with Iran. It is going to be a good deal. I don't want it to blow up because of what is happening now," he said, adding that he was going to "call Bibi right now and tell him not to retaliate."

"Each of them had their fun. Israel had its strike, and Iran had its strike. We don't need another one," Trump said.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said Sunday that missile attacks on Israel were a "warning," Reuters reported.

Reuters reported that Iran also threatened a broader response against U.S. and Israeli targets across the region if what it called further "aggressions" were repeated.

The explanation came after Israeli air defenses intercepted at least four Iranian missile barrages.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military said the immediate missile threat had passed.

"The public is requested to continue to follow the Home Front Command instructions," the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement.

The military added that citizens were now permitted to leave protected spaces throughout the country.

President Donald Trump said Sunday that the recent Iranian missile attack on Israel was unhelpful to ongoing talks while expressing optimism that a deal is within reach.

Speaking to Fox News Chief Foreign Correspondent Trey Yingst, Trump said the attack would complicate diplomatic efforts.

"It's certainly not going to help negotiations," he said.

"We're very close. I would say an agreement would be signed on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday of this coming week. And now this takes place," Trump added before suggesting to Iran, "You've shot your missiles, that's enough. Get back to the table and make a deal."

Trump also criticized Israel's strikes on Beirut on Sunday, saying he was "not happy about it."

Iran's parliament speaker, Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, warned in a post shared on X that Israeli strikes on Beirut and the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports could trigger retaliation, accusing both nations of abandoning cease-fire and negotiation commitments.

“They are neither committed to a ceasefire nor believe in dialogue, and by demonstrating through the naval blockade and violation of agreements regarding Lebanon that they only understand the language of power,” Ghalibaf said in the post.

Ghalibaf also said the naval blockade and “America's green light today to the Zionist regime turn American and regime bases and assets in the region into legitimate targets.”

“The hand of our armed forces is open, as always,” he added.

Iran's deputy foreign minister rejected suggestions Sunday that frozen Iranian assets could be used to compensate U.S. regional allies for any war-related damages.

“First, this is a fresh impudence from America,” Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi wrote in a post shared on X.

“If Washington, as the primary aggressor in the military aggression against the Islamic Republic of Iran, is truly seeking to compensate for damages, it should not get the address wrong: it should start with America itself and with the regime that is the main source of arson, aggression, and instability in the region. Iran will not let the aggressors off the hook and will demand and obtain reparations for the damages of war,” he said.

Gharibabadi added that regional governments that have shown aggression against Iran are “not in a position to demand reparations” and instead must fully compensate Tehran for damages inflicted on the country.

He also warned that any seizure, allocation, or transfer of Iranian assets would prompt an "appropriate response from Iran".

Gharibabadi, who has taken part in negotiations with Washington over frozen Iranian funds, is pushing for the release of $24 billion in frozen assets as part of a potential deal — a demand the Trump administration has shown no sign of accepting.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is seeking estimates from Gulf allies on the cost of war-related repairs, according to multiple reports.

Iran’s new Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA) shared a post on X on Sunday featuring a child in a control area who appeared to be reaching for a phone.

“Despite the aggressive war by the United States and the Zionist regime against the Islamic Republic of Iran and the restrictions resulting from the war, PGSA is striving to provide safe passage for commercial vessels in cooperation with the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the authority said in a post shared on X.

“Examples of thanks expressed by ships after passing through the #Strait_of_Hormuz :)” it added in the post.

Counterterrorism expert Dr. Omar Mohammed told Fox News Digital that the image appeared to show the exploitation of a child in wartime propaganda.

"In the same week Iran halted talks with Washington, fired drones at the Strait of Hormuz, and threatened to close it, its own authority posted a toddler on a ship's bridge with a smiley and a thank-you for 'safe passage,'" he said.

“That is the exploitation of a child in war propaganda.

"The post is built to look cute so the world scrolls past it as harmless — at the very moment Iran is attacking the strait it claims to be protecting."

“I documented ISIS doing the same in Mosul with its 'Cubs of the Caliphate.' The actors differ; the move is identical — and the danger is a world that scrolls past it," Mohammed added.

The PGSA has been overseeing maritime navigation through the Strait of Hormuz since May. 

Chief foreign correspondent Trey Yingst reported from Tel Aviv as the U.S.-Iran conflict intensifies following U.S. Central Command strikes on Iranian radar sites.

"The Foreign Desk" founding editor Lisa Daftari also joined Fox News to detail the Tehran regime's refusal to make concessions.

Iranian leaders have already vowed retaliation for Israel's Sunday strikes on Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Hudson Institute senior fellow Rebeccah Heinrichs says she is skeptical that the Iranian leadership would accept any peace deal with President Donald Trump on Sunday.

Heinrichs made the statement during an appearance on "Life, Liberty & Levin," calling out the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps in particular.

U.S. Central Command released images of U.S. forces conducting "night flight operations" in the Arabian Sea on Sunday.

"Sailors aboard USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) conduct night flight operations while transiting the Arabian Sea. George H.W. Bush is one of two aircraft carriers currently operating in the Middle East," CENTCOM wrote in a post on X.

Israeli Defense Forces say they launched strikes against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon on Sunday after the terrorist groups fired toward Israeli territory.

"In accordance with the instructions of Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu and Defense Minister [Israel] Katz, the IDF has just struck terrorist command centers in Beirut’s Dahiyeh district in response to Hezbollah’s fire toward Israeli territory," Netanyahu and Katz wrote in a joint statement.

Netanyahu said earlier this weekend that Israel will "not allow" Hezbollah to attack Israel without consequence.

"In Lebanon, our forces have eliminated 350 terrorists in the past week alone. They captured the Beaufort Ridge, where they discovered a massive underground infrastructure. We are completing the elimination of the terrorist villages adjacent to our border. We are striking them very hard, and we know that Hezbollah is on the run. We will not allow firing at our territory or our communities, and we will act accordingly," he said.

Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., joined "Fox News Sunday" to weigh in on the ongoing U.S.-Iranian conflict as peace talks with Tehran fail to make progress.

President Donald Trump says the U.S. is willing to work with Iran to remove and destroy its uranium supplies if it agrees to a peace deal.

Trump made the comments during an interview with NBC News' "Meet the Press" published on Sunday. He went on to say that if no deal is reached, the U.S. will resume attacks on Iran's military.

“If we make a deal that now we’re friendly, we’ll all go together. It’ll be our equipment. We’ll take it out and destroy it, whether it’s on-site or whether we take it off-site,” Trump said of the enriched uranium.

“And we will go with them, or without them. But we won’t have people shooting at us, OK?” Trump said. “Now, if we don’t make a deal, then we’re going to take them out militarily very harshly. And we’ll wait till we do that before we go, in which case we’ll have safety either way.”

President Donald Trump denied that launching the Iran conflict broke his campaign promise of "no new wars" because it is not an "endless war" on Sunday.

Trump made the statement in an interview with NBC News after being pressed on the issue by host Kristen Welker.

"I didn't promise anything. I don't like these endless wars. This is not an endless war," Trump said.

"So you're saying you didn't break your promise. And yet, Mr. President, in your first term, you held to that promise and it was so fundamental to who you were as a candidate, to a first-term president. What changed, because you insisted 'no new wars'?"

"First of all, I didn't guarantee no war. Why would I have built the strongest military in the world? I built our military. I inherited a terrible military. We had no equipment. We had nothing. I built a tremendous military. Biden gave a lot of it away, but it's still a relatively small portion compared to what I built," Trump responded.

Trump went on to say that Iran was very close to developing a nuclear weapon prior to U.S. intervention, and that he was doing the world a "favor."

President Donald Trump says Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is "more rational" than his father, the late Ali Khamenei.

Trump made the comment during an interview with NBC News published on Sunday, telling host Kristen Welker that the new leader may be better for the U.S.

"Is this younger Khamenei any better for the United States than his father was?" Welker asked.

"Younger. I think more rational. Injured. He’s pretty badly injured. So there's a certain bravery there," Trump said. "A lot of people, if they were injured that badly, they wouldn't be talking about, you know, 'How are we doing with the United States?' They'd have other things on their mind. So there's a certain bravery there. But he is very seriously injured."

Earlier in the interview, Trump declined to say where is red line would fall on restarting military operations against Iran. He said he would think about it "very seriously" if any more American lives were lost, but noted that, "We're having very good negotiations with the people that are leading the country now."

"It's the third group that we've been dealing with. And they are different. And you could say it's regime change actually because these are very different people. I find them to be more rational, very smart," Trump said.

Turning Point USA contributor Jack Posobiec, a former Navy intelligence officer, joined Fox News on Sunday to discuss reports of Israel spying on the U.S.

Both the White House and the Israeli Embassy in the U.S. have denied the claims

Fox News senior strategic analyst Ret. Gen. Jack Keane discussed Iran’s demand for billions in frozen assets as the U.S. works to reach a deal with the regime on Sunday.

Iranian negotiators demanded $24 billion in frozen assets as part of a potential agreement, but President Donald Trump's administration has shown no signs of agreeing.

Keane argued that the Trump administration has exhausted its strategic patience, having applied significant economic pressure and military deterrence against Tehran, making a comprehensive deal Iran's only viable option.

Fox News' host Mark Levin defended Israel's repeated strikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon on Saturday, arguing that Israel is "surrounded by enemies" and must defend itself.

Levin dove into the history of Jewish and Muslim populations in the Middle East, arguing that Israel has no choice but to defend itself.

Pakistan's interior minister is meeting with Iranian officials in Tehran on Sunday in the latest effort to progress peace talks between the U.S. and Iran.

Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi is delivering a message directly to Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, according to Iranian state media.

Naqvi met with Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni late Saturday, and held talks Sunday morning with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, according to official Iranian media.

The reports did not offer details on what was discussed in the meetings.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

A coalition of athletes, including several Olympians, have signed a letter advocating against Iran for its history and plans to execute star athletes, as the planned execution of Iranian boxing champion Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani looms.

Sani is a boxing champion, coach and political prisoner who is currently facing an imminent risk of execution in Iran by the Ayatollah.

He was arrested by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in March 2020 following his participation in the November 2019 nationwide protests, which were initially sparked by a sudden hike in gas prices. The Iranian judiciary charged him with "corruption on earth," which is a capital offense in the country.

The Olympians, headlined by women's tennis legend Martina Navratilova and British swimming gold medalist Sharron Davies, call on world governing powers and sports bodies to intervene to prevent the execution.

"Currently, Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani, a 31-year-old boxing champion and coach, remains on death row," the letter states.

"We call on the United Nations, international sports federations, and governments to act immediately to save the lives of Iranian dissidents, including athletes. The world must not stand by while Iran silences its champions. We stand with the victims. We stand for justice."

The letter also pointed to past incidents of Iranian execution of star athletes in the country, including 19-year-old champion wrestler Saleh Mohammadi, whose execution sparked a global uproar in March.

"Since mid-March, Iran has witnessed a horrific spree of executions of political dissidents, marking one of the most severe crackdowns in the past three decades. Dozens of people have been executed following unfair trials and coerced confessions. The theocratic regime, fearing another uprising, has exploited the cover of war to suppress growing dissent. Several victims of these executions were protesters arrested during the January 2026 uprising. Among them were Saleh Mohammadi, a 19-year-old national wrestling champion, and Sasan Azadvar Joonaghan, a 21-year-old karate champion," the letter states.

"Tragically, Iran has a grim history of executing athletes for their beliefs, including Habib Khabiri, the captain of Iran’s national football team, who was executed for his affiliation with the PMOI, and Forouzan Abdi, captain of Iran’s national women’s volleyball team, who was executed alongside 30,000 political prisoners during the 1988 massacre. In 2020, Iranian wrestling champion Navid Afkari was executed after participating in peaceful protests in 2018."

As the Trump administration weighs diplomacy and military pressure against Iran, a political clock is ticking at home.

Even if the Strait of Hormuz — the global oil choke point largely shuttered since the conflict with Iran due to Iranian attacks — reopened immediately, it could take months for oil flows to return due to logistical bottlenecks involving trapped tankers, swollen inventories and damaged oil infrastructure, according to Kpler oil analyst Matt Smith, pushing normalization of global energy markets closer to the Nov. 3 midterm elections. 

"It's then going to take until the fourth quarter of the year for things to return to normal," Smith said.

The question facing Republicans is whether the economic consequences of the conflict will outlast the conflict itself. While the White House continues to pursue a diplomatic resolution with Iran, strategists and energy analysts say disruptions to global energy markets could linger long after any agreement is reached, leaving voters with months of elevated costs heading into the midterms.

The economic effects are already visible. 

The national average price of regular gasoline stood at $4.241 per gallon Thursday, according to AAA, up from $3.144 a year earlier — an increase of nearly 35%.

Moody's Analytics estimates the conflict has cost American households roughly $100 billion throughout the past three months, or about $750 per household, through higher fuel, transportation and related costs.

To some, the conflict has already gone on long enough to create lasting political consequences.

"There is a timeline, and we've already passed it," GOP strategist Doug Heye told Fox News Digital.

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Morgan Phillips.

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) intercepted six Iranian ballistic missiles fired toward Kuwait and Bahrain after American forces struck Iranian radar sites, as tensions continue to rise amid stalled negotiations between Washington and Tehran.

Fox News foreign correspondent Jeff Paul reported from Dubai that Iran launched seven ballistic missiles toward the Gulf allies after CENTCOM forces shot down four Iranian one-way attack drones and carried out retaliatory strikes on radar sites in Goruk and on Qeshm Island.

“Officials in Kuwait are describing those recent overnight strikes here in the Gulf as a serious escalation,” Paul said on “Fox Report.”

CENTCOM said six of the seven missiles were intercepted, while the seventh failed to reach its intended target.

Former CIA station chief and Fox News contributor Dan Hoffman said Iran appears to be trying to “drive up the costs of the war” for the United States by disrupting trade through the Strait of Hormuz, escalating Hezbollah strikes against Israel and targeting Gulf allies.

“Iran feels like that gives them added leverage,” Hoffman said, referring to domestic political pressure facing the Trump administration ahead of the midterms.

Fox News' Jasmine Baehr contributed to this report.