Monday 08 / June / 2026
Tehran/Tel Aviv: Israel launched airstrikes in the early hours of this morning, targeting areas in central and western Iran in response to missile launches from Tehran, in a development that threatens to drag the entire Middle East into a wide-scale regional war.
Amid escalating threats to global energy supplies and Iran’s retention of a significant stockpile of highly enriched uranium, the risks of a broader outbreak of hostilities are mounting.
Iranian state television reported explosions in Isfahan, Karaj, Tabriz, and Tehran without providing further details. Iran also announced the closure of airspace around Imam Khomeini International Airport following the Israeli attack.
In a statement, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it had targeted the Ramat David Airbase with ballistic missiles, describing it as a launchpad for “the Israeli occupation’s aggressions against southern Lebanon, including Beirut’s southern suburbs.” The statement added, “Our acceptance of the ceasefire on 8 April was conditional upon a cessation of hostilities on all fronts.”
Meanwhile, sirens sounded across Israel after its military announced that a missile had been launched from Yemen toward Israeli territory, with no further details provided. Emergency services reported no injuries or fatalities. The Ansar Allah group did not immediately claim responsibility for the attack.
In a related development, the Israeli military said in a pre-dawn statement that it had struck “military targets in western and central Iran.” The IRGC, in turn, reported that Israel had used air-launched ballistic missiles, without offering additional specifics.
In Lebanon, these developments coincided with continued tensions with Hezbollah, amid escalating Israeli military operations in southern Lebanon and their expansion to areas near Beirut in recent days, heightening fears that the confrontation could spread regionally.
On the political front, the White House has not responded to inquiries regarding coordination with Israel. Meanwhile, a US official conveyed that President Donald Trump urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to exercise restraint and refrain from an immediate response to the Iranian attack, noting that Trump “convinced Netanyahu to agree to a temporary postponement.”
These events unfold as US-Iranian negotiations over a ceasefire have stalled, amid ongoing combat linked to multiple fronts in the region, including Lebanon and Yemen.
Earlier, the US President stated that the United States is the party making decisions related to the file, asserting that he is dictating the terms for dealing with the war.
