On the 8th (local time), the Israeli military carried out a swift retaliatory airstrike on Tehran, the Iranian capital, as well as Tabriz and Isfahan. The attack came immediately after Iran launched a massive missile barrage targeting northern Israel earlier that day. As the two countries again traded direct blows and entered into armed clashes, the outlook for a cease-fire deal that had barely been holding together has once more faded into the fog.
According to a roundup of reports from major outlets, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) conducted precision strikes targeting military facilities in central and western Iran. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) confirmed that powerful explosions were heard in succession in at least three major cities, including Tehran, the northwestern city of Tabriz, and the central city of Isfahan. The Israeli operation took place swiftly, just hours after Iran fired multiple ballistic missiles at northern Israel. The IRGC officially said the Israeli military used air-launched ballistic missiles to strike Iran.
Earlier, Iran strongly criticized Israel for provoking the armed clash first. The Iranian Foreign Ministry stressed that the missile launch was a legitimate response to Israel's repeated violations of the cease-fire agreement signed in April, including the bombing of the Dahiyeh area in southern Beirut, the capital of Lebanon. In particular, the IRGC warned that the attack marked the beginning of a sustained phase of strikes against Israel that would continue for the next week, making clear it would not back down. However, most of the missiles Iran launched were intercepted and destroyed by air defenses over northern Israel.
U.S. President Donald Trump intervened immediately to prevent the crisis from worsening but failed to stop the two sides from clashing. Before Israel launched its counterstrike, Trump called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu directly and strongly urged restraint on retaliatory airstrikes. In an interview with the Financial Times (FT), he aimed at Netanyahu, saying, "I hold all the decision-making power. It's not his decision," adding, "He will have no choice." He also told the U.S. online outlet Axios, "Israel and Iran have each struck once, and that's enough," and "I don't want the talks to collapse." To Iran, he warned, "Stop military action and return to the negotiating table immediately."
Despite Trump's repeated urgings to maintain the cease-fire, Israel ultimately pushed ahead with an airstrike on Iranian soil. This is seen as indicating clear limits to the U.S. government's ability to prevent a wider war in the Middle East. According to Israeli media, voices within Israel's political establishment called on Prime Minister Netanyahu to deliver an even stronger military response immediately after the ballistic missile barrage from Iran.
As tit-for-tat reprisals escalated, international oil prices surged immediately. Brent, the global benchmark, jumped 2.6% to $95.50 a barrel, reflecting jitters in the energy market. Israel again fully closed the Kerem Shalom and Rafah border crossings into the Gaza Strip and raised its national security posture to the highest level.