The iran israel war escalated again Sunday (ET) as Israel described a new “wide-scale” wave of strikes in western Iran while Iran fired additional missiles, even as Tehran’s top diplomat publicly rejected the premise of ceasefire talks and US President Donald Trump said he was not ready to make a deal to end the conflict.
What is expanding on the battlefield in the Iran Israel War?
The Israel Defense Forces said it is expanding the scope of strikes against what it called the Iranian regime’s infrastructure to include more areas in western and central Iran, describing the aim as degrading the regime’s “command and control capabilities. ” The IDF also said the Israeli Air Force completed a wave of strikes earlier Sunday targeting the Iranian regime’s headquarters in Hamedan, western Iran.
The IDF said the strikes hit several key headquarters belonging to the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps and the Basij Forces. It framed the operation as part of an “ongoing effort focused on deepening the damage to the core operational systems and foundations of the Iranian regime. ”
On the other side of the exchange, Iran continued launching missiles. Fires were burning after an Iranian strike on the outskirts of Tel Aviv, with a journalist at the scene describing the aftermath. Separately, reporting from the region described multiple Iranian missile volleys across a wide geographic range in Israel, with millions of Israelis moving in and out of shelters throughout the day.
What is being said publicly about talks, ceasefire, and responsibility?
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran has “never asked for a ceasefire” and has not sought negotiations. He also said Iran sees no reason to talk with Americans, adding that Iran had been in talks when the United States “decided to attack us. ”
Araghchi characterized the situation as “a war of choice” by President Donald Trump and the United States, while saying Iran would continue what he called self-defense.
Trump, meanwhile, said Iran wants to make a deal to end the war, but said the terms were “not good enough” yet—signaling that even if contacts exist, the public posture remains one of continued pressure rather than immediate compromise.
How is the conflict spilling into global trade and regional security calculations?
Beyond the direct exchanges, one of the clearest pressure points is maritime traffic around the Strait of Hormuz. Reporting from near the strait described about 1, 000 vessels waiting to transit, including roughly 200 oil tankers, amid threats toward vessels near the entrance and rising costs that are being felt in countries around the world.
Iran has said it will not allow US and US-affiliated ships to pass through, while others can transit. But the same account described ships not linked to the United States also being targeted. A Thai-flagged vessel attempting to pass through was described as having ballistic missiles targeted toward it, with strikes that led to around 20 crew members being rescued by the Omani Navy, while about three crew members were still missing at sea.
Separate reporting described an Italian military base in Kuwait used jointly with the United States being struck by a drone, with the Italian army stating there were no casualties. In parallel, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty met with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani to discuss steps toward regional de-escalation and ending the ongoing conflict involving Israel, the United States, and Iran.
What these threads share is a widening set of consequences—battlefield expansion, hardened diplomatic messaging, and direct impacts on shipping and energy flows. The iran israel war is increasingly defined not only by strikes and missile fire, but by how quickly it forces choices on regional governments, militaries, and commercial routes that affect fuel prices and supply chains far from the front lines.
