Article #45851

Latest exchange of attacks threatens to drag Middle East into regional war and comes after US president said ‘I call all the shots’, not Benjamin Netanyahu

• Middle East crisis – live updates

Israel launched airstrikes on central and western Iran on Monday in apparent defiance of Donald Trump after he urged restraint over a reprisal attack by Tehran in an escalation that threatens to drag the Middle East back into a regional war.

It was the first exchange of direct strikes between the two enemies since a ceasefire paused the US-Israel war with Iran in April. Iran’s attack came in response to earlier strikes on Beirut by Israel.