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The Israeli response is particularly notable because it came despite intense public pressure from President Trump to avoid further escalation.
By United with Israel Staff
Israel launched a major wave of strikes across Iran early Monday morning, targeting ballistic missile infrastructure, military facilities, petrochemical sites, and strategic air defense systems just hours after Tehran fired 11 missiles at Israel.
At around 4:30 a.m. Israel time, the IDF announced that the Israeli Air Force, guided by Military Intelligence, had struck military targets belonging to the Iranian regime in western and central Iran. Explosions were subsequently reported in multiple regions across the country.
The operation came in direct response to Iran’s missile attack Sunday night, which Tehran launched after Israel struck Hezbollah command centers in Beirut’s Dahiyeh district following renewed rocket fire on northern Israeli communities.
The Israeli response is particularly notable because it came despite intense public pressure from President Donald Trump to avoid further escalation.
After Iran’s missile attack, Trump repeatedly stressed that he did not want Israel to retaliate, arguing that additional military action could jeopardize negotiations that Washington says are close to producing a breakthrough agreement with Tehran.
“The Iranian strikes didn’t hurt anybody. Hopefully Israel is not going to retaliate,” Trump said Sunday evening. “I am going to call Bibi right now and tell him not to retaliate.”
Trump also expressed frustration that the growing confrontation could undermine diplomatic efforts.
“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.
Despite those appeals, Israel moved ahead with a broad military response only hours later.
Israeli Ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter said the overnight operation targeted ballistic missile launch sites and other military infrastructure.
“Israel struck ballistic missile launch sites in Iran overnight, as well as infrastructure that is not energy infrastructure,” Leiter said.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps acknowledged the attacks, claiming Israel had struck Iranian territory using air-launched ballistic missiles.
A short time later, the IDF announced a second wave of strikes, saying Israeli aircraft had targeted several facilities within the petrochemical complex in Mahshahr, in southwestern Iran.
The escalation continued throughout Monday morning.
After the Israeli strikes began, the Houthis launched a missile from Yemen toward Israel, triggering alerts. Later, Iran launched several additional missile volleys toward Israel. One impact was reported in the Samaria region, though no injuries were immediately reported.
Later Monday morning, the IDF announced the completion of a large-scale operation against strategic Iranian air defense systems.
According to the military, dozens of Israeli fighter jets participated in the strikes, destroying air defense assets that Iran had recently deployed in an effort to rebuild capabilities damaged during Operation Roaring Lion.
“In recent months, defense systems were deployed in several areas of Iran as part of the regime’s efforts to restore its detection and defense capabilities that were damaged during Operation Roaring Lion,” the IDF said. “The strikes led to the destruction of these systems.”
The military said the operation further expanded the Israeli Air Force’s freedom of action over Iranian airspace.
The latest exchange marks another major escalation in the confrontation between Israel and Iran and underscores the widening gap between Washington’s push for diplomacy and Jerusalem’s willingness to respond militarily to direct attacks by Tehran and its regional proxies.
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