Escalation of conflicts between Israel and Iran after ceasefire

Israel and Iran fire at each other while Yemen's Houthi rebels launch a missile at Israel and threatened to disrupt Red Sea shipping.

It's the most serious escalation since a ceasefire began two months ago and threatens to plunge the Middle East back into war. Israel and Iran traded fire in retaliatory strikes that threatened to drag the wider Middle East back into a full-scale regional war.

Israel launched strikes on central and western Iran early Monday in response to missile fire from Tehran and Iran retaliated with waves of attacks, in the most serious crossfire since an April 8 ceasefire was reached.

Explosions could be heard in central Israel as air defences sought to intercept incoming Iranian fire.

Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard says it had targeted two military bases in Israel, describing the attacks as being part of Operation Nasr, or "Victory."

The Guard says it launched the missiles after Israel targeted radar sites in three areas of Iran.

Tehran warned of retaliation on Sunday after Israel struck Beirut's southern suburbs without warning in defiance of Washington's request days ago to stand down.

Iran warned it would hold the US responsible for any escalation. "No one believes that the Israeli regime would take any action without coordination with the US," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said during a briefing with journalists in Tehran. He added the US bears responsibility for the Israeli regime's aggression, and it will also be responsible for the consequences of any escalation in tensions."

A senior US official said US President Donald Trump had called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to urge him not to retaliate immediately for the Iranian missile attack. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe a private phone call, said Trump believed he had convinced Netanyahu to wait. Trump "got Bibi to hold off for the time being," the official said. Trump earlier told a Fox News Channel reporter he wanted the Iranians to stop firing missiles and return to the negotiating table.

He also said Israel's strikes in Lebanon earlier Sunday were not coordinated with the US and he was not happy about it.

Speaking to The Financial Times before the Israeli strikes on Iran, Trump insisted he dictated terms to Netanyahu on how the war should be prosecuted.

This comes as Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels claimed an attack on Israel and said Israel-affiliated vessels would again be a target in the Red Sea, putting the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the narrow Bab el-Mandeb Strait connected them in danger.