Iran war day 102: Trump warns Israel against new strikes as ceasefire holds

Iran and Israel have paused tit-for-tat attacks against each other that had threatened to unravel the fragile ceasefire in place since April 8, but tensions remain high. Tehran has warned that fighting could resume if Israel continues with its attacks, including on Lebanon.

The ceasefire is also facing pressure from growing public disagreements between Israel and the United States. According to Axios, US President Donald Trump warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to be “careful” as continued strikes risk undermining the truce.

The Iranian parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said repeated Israeli violations showed there was no “genuine will to build trust”. He warned that the ceasefire remains brittle and could break.

Here is what’s happening:

In Iran

• Israel said it targeted the Mahshahr petrochemical complex in the southwest on Monday, one of Iran’s most important industrial centres. Iranian media reported no casualties, while authorities continue to assess the extent of the damage and potential economic losses.

War diplomacy

• Israel’s ambassador to the US, Yechiel Leiter, said negotiations between Washington and Tehran have “nothing to do with Lebanon”, accusing Iran of trying to connect the two issues. Speaking to Fox News, Leiter said Israeli operations against Hezbollah are separate from the US-Iran talks and warned that “Lebanon will not have a future if it remains linked to Iran”.
• Analysts say Israel’s decision to launch new strikes on Iran despite Trump’s calls for restraint was intended to signal to the US that no lasting agreement with Tehran can ignore Israeli interests. Military historian Danny Orbach said the strikes were a message to Washington that Israel retains the ability to disrupt negotiations if it believes its security concerns are being overlooked.

In the US

• Trump said on Monday he warned Netanyahu that the Israeli PM could find himself “on your own very soon” if he carried out further strikes on Iran. According to Axios, the president urged Netanyahu not to retaliate after Iran signalled it would halt attacks, highlighting growing tensions between Washington and Israel over the future of the ceasefire.
• Phyllis Bennis of the Institute for Policy Studies said Trump’s warning to Israel would carry more weight if it were backed by concrete actions. She argued that continued US military aid, diplomatic support and weapons transfers undermine the message, leaving little reason for Netanyahu to view the comments as a meaningful shift in US policy.