Israel launches new strikes on Tehran as Trump pauses Iran energy attacks
Israel launches new strikes on Tehran as Trump pauses Iran energy attacks
Following remarks from Donald Trump indicating a temporary halt in U.S. military actions against Iran’s energy infrastructure, the Israeli military announced fresh strikes on Tehran. The IDF confirmed it would proceed with its operations under government orders until further instructions were given.
Forty minutes after Trump extended a five-day pause on U.S. attacks targeting Iran’s power plants, describing recent discussions with Tehran as “productive,” the Israeli Defense Forces shared on X that “another wave of strikes targeting the Iranian terror regime’s infrastructure across Tehran has just begun.” The IDF hinted that energy facilities might be left untouched, aligning with Washington’s potential pause on strikes against such sites.
“Operating in accordance with the directives of Israel’s political leadership, we will continue to strike in Iran according to our plans until instructed otherwise,” stated an IDF official to the Times of Israel.
Al Jazeera Arabic’s correspondent in Tehran noted the scale of explosions in the capital as “unprecedented.” While Israel has not previously targeted these facilities, Defense Minister Israel Katz emphasized that strikes on Iran and its critical infrastructure would mark a significant escalation.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards retaliated by launching an attack on Israeli targets. Trump, in a social media post, highlighted that Washington and Tehran had engaged in “very good and productive conversations” over two days, leading to a five-day delay on military strikes against power plants and energy infrastructure.
A source close to Israel’s military planning revealed that U.S. officials had kept Israeli counterparts informed about negotiations with Tehran, suggesting coordination to suspend attacks on certain Iranian sites. The Israeli prime minister’s office did not immediately comment on the talks or the U.S. decision to pause strikes.
On Monday, the Israeli military reported strikes on multiple military bases and facilities in Iran, including an Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps air defense headquarters, a Quds Force base, and a missile production facility. The Guardian noted it could not independently confirm these claims.
The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) documented 206 attacks across 15 Iranian provinces in the past 24 hours, resulting in at least four casualties. With a child’s death reported on Monday, over 15% of total casualties in Iran have been under 18. Fars cited six fatalities in Tabriz from residential strikes, raising the estimated death toll to surpass 1,500 since the conflict began, with some groups reporting up to 3,230 by 21 March.
The IDF also noted the destruction of approximately 330 of Iran’s 470 ballistic missile launchers, with over half neutralized in airstrikes and others disabled via underground site strikes. Air force operations continue to focus on remaining launchers, as missile fire on Israel has dropped to about 10 per day from over 90 at the conflict’s start.
Meanwhile, Israel maintained its campaign in Lebanon, reporting a recent strike in Beirut aimed at a militant affiliated with Iran’s Quds Force. Lebanon’s health ministry confirmed one fatality from the attack. Israeli forces also occupied the southern village of Aita al-Chaab, deploying a crane for surveillance purposes.
