Israel Conducts New Airstrikes in Tehran Amid U.S.-Iran Negotiations

Israel has initiated a new series of airstrikes targeting Tehran, following U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to extend by five days a deadline for potential attacks on Iran's energy infrastructure. This extension was announced after what Trump described as "very good and productive conversations" with Iranian officials.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) stated they are operating in accordance with directives from Israel's political leadership and will continue their operations until instructed otherwise. An IDF official noted that the military could not comment on the U.S. president's announcement of negotiations with Iran, emphasizing that it is a "political echelon matter."

Al Jazeera's correspondent in Tehran reported that the recent explosions in the Iranian capital were "unprecedented" in size and volume. The IDF confirmed that the latest strikes targeted various military installations, including an Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps air defense and ground forces headquarters, a Quds Force base, an intelligence site, and a defense ministry missile production facility.

In response, Iran's Revolutionary Guards announced a new attack on targets in Israel. The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reported at least 206 attacks across 15 provinces in Iran over the past 24 hours, resulting in at least four casualties, both civilian and military. Since the onset of the conflict, estimates of total fatalities in Iran have surpassed 1,500, with some rights groups reporting figures as high as 3,230 as of March 21.

The Israeli military also reported that it has destroyed or rendered inoperable approximately 330 of Iran's estimated 470 ballistic missile launchers since the beginning of the conflict. Missile fire on Israel has decreased to about 10 per day in recent days, down from roughly 90 at the start of the conflict.

In Lebanon, Israel has continued its military campaign, carrying out a recent strike in Beirut targeting a militant linked to Iran's Quds Force. Lebanon's health ministry reported one person killed in the attack. Additionally, Israeli forces have positioned themselves inside the southern village of Aita al-Chaab, deploying surveillance equipment facing nearby Ramiyah.

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for the annexation of areas in southern Lebanon, stating that Israel should "apply sovereignty" over areas under its control. He emphasized that the military campaign in Lebanon "needs to end with a different reality entirely, both with the Hezbollah decision but also with the change of Israel's borders," suggesting that the new Israeli border should be the Litani River.