Iran’s joint military command said Monday it was halting offensive operations against Israel after President Trump called for both sides to lay down their weapons in his first public comments since the Middle Eastern enemies traded attacks in the largest escalation of hostilities in more than two months.
The joint command warned that if Israel or its allies carried out any further “aggression and hostile acts,” including against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, then “much more severe and crushing measures than before will follow.”
“Israel and Iran must immediately stop ‘shooting,’” Trump had written in a brief post on Truth Social after Iran sent three waves of missiles toward the Jewish state, while Israeli forces targeted truck-based surface-to-air launchers and petrochemical facilities inside the Islamic Republic.
There was no immediate word of any casualties in the most intense exchange since a cease-fire between the US and Iran took effect April 8.
In a separate post, Trump insisted that Iran and Israel were “looking to do an immediate CEASEFIRE!”
“Final negotiations on ‘Peace’ are proceeding, subject to ignorance or stupidity getting in its way,” he added. “The Blockade will remain in place, and in full force and effect, until a ‘Final Deal’ is reached. Things should move quickly.”
There was no indication that the US would restart military operations against Tehran as a result of the attacks on Israel.
Last week, Trump told The Post’s “Pod Force One” it was “unlikely” the blockade against Iranian ports would remain in place by the time Labor Day arrives Sept. 7.
Explosions were heard in the Iranian cities of Isfahan, Karaj, Tabriz and Tehran, while state media reported that a petrochemical factory in the city of Mahshahr had also been hit.
Israeli forces also hit a military center in Tabriz, but local officials said there were no casualties, according to IRNA.
Meanwhile, Tehran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) boasted that attacks on Israel’s Tel-Nof and Nevatim air bases had begun as part of Operation Nasr.
“This operation was carried out in response to the child-killing Zionist regime’s missile aggression against several radar sites in three parts of the country,” the regime said.
The IRGC Intelligence Organization claimed the overnight operations were a “100 out of 100 success.”
Tehran had warned on Sunday it would retaliate after Israel struck Hezbollah targets in Beirut’s southern suburbs, an attack for which Tehran blamed the US in addition to Israel.
“No one believes that the Israeli regime would take any action without coordination with the United States,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei blasted.
“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.”
The tit-for-tat strikes are threatening to drag the wider Middle East region back to full-scale war — with Iraqi officials closing the country’s airspace for 72 hours as a “precautionary measure” before reopening it Monday after the announcement by Iran’s military.
Damascus International Airport in Syria will remain closed until 11 p.m. local time Monday, but Israel’s airspace remains open.
