Israel conducts strikes in Iran, IDF says
The IDF said it struck military targets in western and central Iran.
President Donald Trump announced "major combat operations" against Iran on Feb. 28, with massive joint U.S.-Israeli strikes targeting military, government and infrastructure sites.
Following the announcement of a two-week ceasefire, initial U.S.-Iran talks in Pakistan in April failed to reach a peace deal.
Trump later announced the open-ended extension of the ceasefire and the continuation of a U.S. blockade until negotiations are concluded "one way or the other."
Key Headlines
- IDF says it has identified missiles fired at Israel from Iran
- IDF says fatal shooting of baby in West Bank prompts criminal investigation
- Israeli strikes in Beirut could put US-Iran peace negotiations in peril
- US forces again shoot down Iranian attack drones that threatened Strait of Hormuz, CENTCOM says
Trump says Iran didn't inform US about pause in communications
President Donald Trump reacted to Monday morning's news that Iran was stopping communications with the U.S. for negotiations for a peace deal, saying in a phone interview that Iran hadn't informed the U.S.
"It's an appropriate thing to say, because they're better negotiators than they are fighters. But they haven't informed us of that," Trump said when asked about Iran's decision to cease messaging, according to NBC News.
The president did indicate that the U.S. would not resume hostility but would go through with the blockade and "go silent" on Iran.
"It doesn't mean we're going to go and start dropping bombs all over there. We'll just go silent. We'll keep the blockade. Blockade is a piece of steel," Trump said, according to a post by the NBC reporter.
--ABC News' Michelle Stoddart
Iran warns crossing red lines in Lebanon, Gaza could trigger 'direct war'
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said Iran "considers crossing the red lines in Lebanon and Gaza to mean direct war and the imposition of costs on its own national security and Islamic resistance."
In response, the IRGC said, Iran "resolves to carry out defensive operations by taking meaning-breaking actions, opening new fronts, and in addition, maintaining the Strait of Hormuz equation."
Israeli military orders evacuation of Beirut's southern suburbs
The Israeli military has warned residents of the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, to flee their homes amid potential impending strikes.
The Israeli military said it will target locations in the suburb of Dahiyeh if Hezbollah “continues launching rockets towards Israeli cities and towns.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier instructed the military to strike “terrorist targets" in Dahiyeh.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Iran walks away from talks, blocks Strait: Tasnim
Iran is stopping "dialogue and exchange of texts through mediation” due to Israel’s strikes on Lebanon, Iran’s semi-official news agency, Tasnim, reported.
Iran is also blocking the Strait of Hormuz, Tasnim reported.