Iran Guards say struck two air bases in Israel

TEHRAN: Iran said Monday it had struck Israel’s Nevatim and Tel Nof air bases, as the two sides traded fire in the largest flare-up in fighting since a ceasefire took effect in April.

“The operation was carried out in response to a missile attack launched by the Zionist regime… against several radar sites in three different places” in Iran, the country’s Revolutionary Guards, said in a statement.

Israel and Iran traded fire on Monday, seriously testing a fragile truce and threating hopes for a deal to end the Middle East war.

The new attacks, including a strike on an Iranian petrochemical complex, came hours after US President Donald Trump called on Israel to refrain from retaliating against Tehran’s missiles.

AFP journalists in Jerusalem heard a series of explosions as they took shelter and the Israeli army said it worked to intercept a new wave of Iranian missiles.

The retaliation followed Israel saying it fired on western and central Iran, tit-for-tat action against Tehran’s assault on Sunday of 11 missiles, all of which were intercepted, with no casualties.

Israel’s military and Iranian local media said Monday that Israel struck a petrochemical company in Mahshahr in southwestern Iran.

Trump had sought to rein in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as Israel accused Tehran of making a “grave mistake”.

“I am going to call Bibi right now and tell him not to retaliate,” Trump was quoted as saying by Axios journalist Barak Ravid in a phone interview, using Netanyahu’s nickname.

“Israel had its strike and Iran had its strike. We don’t need another one,” Trump reportedly said.

In a separate interview with Fox News, Trump said: “What I would suggest to Iran: You’ve shot your missiles, that’s enough, get back to the table and make a deal.”

Ravid later posted that a US official said Trump spoke with Netanyahu, although the White House and Trump have yet to comment.