Mike Huckabee: 'Mothership of Satan Is in Tehran'

Iran fired multiple waves of ballistic missiles at Israel overnight and into Monday morning, breaking a two-month ceasefire that had held since April, as the United States voiced strong backing for Israel amid warnings of further escalation ahead.

The Iranian strikes, the first since a ceasefire took effect in early April, came hours after Israel launched air force strikes on military targets in western and central Iran. This was in direct reponse to Hezbollah's ceaseless flagrant violations of the ceasefire, in which it has murdered and maimed tens of IDF soldiers operating in southern Lebanon and attacked Northern Israel on a daily basis.

The Israeli Air Force struck several targets at the petrochemical complex in the Mahshahr area of southwestern Iran, in the first hit on an energy site inside Iran since the April 8 ceasefire. The attack damaged parts of the facility, according to Valiollah Hayati, deputy governor for security affairs in Khuzestan Province, cited by Iran's semi-official Fars news agency.

There were no reported casualties in Israel following the Iranian missile attacks, according to Magen David Adom, though paramedics were dispatched to Judea and Samaria and additional teams were deployed to treat several individuals injured on their way to protected areas.

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee was unsparing in his condemnation of Tehran. Writing on social media, Huckabee confirmed that Iran had fired missiles at Israel overnight and into early Monday, with alerts sounding in Jerusalem at 6 a.m., and said the projectiles were intercepted. "Iran & its proxy agents of evil want to incinerate America & Israel. Mothership of Satan is in Tehran," he wrote.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio also lent rhetorical support to Israel's right to respond. A clip of Rubio stating "Only stupid countries don't shoot back when you're shot at" - originally made in the context of justifying US military retaliation against Iranian forces in the Strait of Hormuz after strikes on US Navy destroyers, was widely circulated Monday as the exchange of fire escalated.

A senior Israeli official told Channel 14 News that Israel is bracing for several days of further fighting. "We are at the threshold of several days of battle against the Iranians and their affiliates in the Middle East," the official said.

The flare-up has put Washington in a difficult position. President Trump told Fox News he wanted Iran to stop firing missiles and return to the negotiating table, while also saying Israel's earlier strikes in Lebanon were not coordinated with the US and that he was "not happy" about them. Trump also reportedly called Netanyahu directly to urge him not to retaliate, telling aides, "Each of them had their fun. Israel had its strike, and Iran had its strike. We don't need another one."

Hospitals moved patients to underground facilities and schools were shut across Israel amid fears of further missile attacks. The IDF said air defense systems were also activated to intercept a missile launched from Yemen, which would mark the Houthis' first strike on Israel since the ceasefire.