Iran and Israel exchange airstrikes, putting US-backed ceasefire on the brink of collapse

On the other side, the Israel Defense Forces stated that 10 ballistic missiles launched from Iran were intercepted by Israeli air defenses. According to the Israel Defense Forces, no injuries were reported from the Iranian missile launches. The Israeli military on Monday reported a new barrage of missiles launched from Iran, suggesting the salvo had not ended with the first wave.

A sharp escalation

The strikes marked the most serious escalation in months. As one assessment put it, "Waves of missile attacks by Israel and Iran marked the worst fighting in months." Analysts said the rapid tit-for-tat risked spiraling into a wider conflict if either side concluded that restraint was no longer politically tenable.

Israel appeared to defy Donald Trump's calls for restraint, a posture that placed direct public pressure on the Trump administration to decide how far it would go to preserve the diplomatic track. The White House's preferred framing of the ceasefire as a signature regional achievement was suddenly in doubt.

Ceasefire under pressure

The airstrikes upended a U.S.-backed ceasefire that had been in place since April. Within hours of the first reports, diplomats warned that the arrangement was, in the words of one account, set to "leave ceasefire on brink" of collapse, raising the prospect of renewed large-scale hostilities between the two longtime adversaries.

The exchange also carried direct implications for the broader Middle East. Iran and Israel have spent decades trading accusations of proxy warfare, and any breakdown of the ceasefire risks pulling in allied militias, neighboring states and U.S. forces deployed across the region. Energy markets and shipping lanes have historically been sensitive to even the threat of open conflict between the two countries.

Regional stakes

Iranian state television broadcast footage it said showed the aftermath of the strikes in Isfahan, though independent verification of damage and casualties remained limited. Israeli officials, for their part, kept air-raid protocols active in northern and central districts and urged residents near identified impact zones to follow shelter guidance.

The missile exchanges threatened a resumption of all-out war between Israel and Iran, a scenario U.S. officials have publicly sought to prevent for months. Whether the ceasefire can be salvaged will depend on back-channel contacts, the trajectory of the next few barrages and the willingness of both governments to step back from a conflict neither has formally declared.

What comes next

Regional governments, including several Gulf states that have brokered indirect contacts in the past, were watching the situation closely. The United Nations secretary-general's office called for immediate de-escalation, echoing language used during previous spikes in the Israel-Iran confrontation.

For now, both militaries remained on high alert. The Israel Defense Forces said it was prepared for further launches from Iran, while Iranian state media warned of a "crushing response" to any additional Israeli strikes. The coming days are likely to determine whether Sunday night's exchange is remembered as a limited retaliation or the opening chapter of a renewed war.