Israel and Iran flare-up tests Trump's grip and could strengthen Tehran's negotiating hand
Key takeaways
- Israel bombed sites in Iran for the first time since a ceasefire in April, after Iran fired missiles at Israel, in what Tehran said was retaliation for Israeli strikes on Lebanon's capital, Beirut.
- The current web of fractious alliances and dysfunctional ceasefires shows how dangerously destabilised the region remains, more than three months after the US and Israel launched their war on Iran.
- The escalation also highlights three points about the current trajectory of the war:
Why this matters: a developing story that could shape the day's news cycle.
Tom Bateman US State Department correspondent Watch: Trump tells BBC Netanyahu did not defy him Israel's tit-for-tat strikes with Iran over the weekend, despite US President Donald Trump's call for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to hold fire, threatened to thrust the Middle East back into another round of direct confrontation between Tehran and Washington.
Israel bombed sites in Iran for the first time since a ceasefire in April, after Iran fired missiles at Israel, in what Tehran said was retaliation for Israeli strikes on Lebanon's capital, Beirut.
The current web of fractious alliances and dysfunctional ceasefires shows how dangerously destabilised the region remains, more than three months after the US and Israel launched their war on Iran.