U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that Israel and Iran must stop "shooting," as the two countries attacked each other for the first time since a cease-fire two months ago.

Israel earlier said it hit ⁠a ⁠petrochemical plant in Iran's southwest, along with strikes elsewhere on ⁠military targets, after Trump reportedly ​told Israeli Prime ​Minister ⁠Benjamin Netanyahu ‌to ‌refrain ⁠from ‌further ​attacks.

Iran fired dozens of missiles at Israel overnight and Israel responded by targeting military sites in the Islamic Republic, sparking fears the escalation could usher in a new full-scale conflict after the April 8 truce.

With Israel's response, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu apparently defied calls by his ally, Trump, for restraint, against the background of reports of an increasingly testy relationship between the two men.

"Israel and Iran must immediately stop 'shooting.' President DONALD J. TRUMP," the U.S. leader wrote on his Truth Social network.

Minutes later, he added in a new post that "final negotiations" towards peace were proceeding "subject to ignorance or stupidity getting in its way."

Tehran's strikes followed attacks by Israel against targets of the Iran-backed Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah in the southern suburbs of Beirut.

Iran had repeatedly warned it would strike Israel if the Lebanese capital was targeted.

Oil prices surged more than five percent on worries that war could break out again, with hopes now punctured of a rapid end to the standoff that has seen shipping limited through the key Strait of Hormuz trade bottleneck amid fears of global energy and goods shortages.