The Israel Defense Forces carried out a wave of airstrikes on Iranian regime targets on Monday, targeting key Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps sites, including its “main security headquarters.”
The headquarters was used by the IRGC “to synchronize unit activities,” the IDF stated, including of the Basij volunteer paramilitary forces, which it said “led the suppression of internal protests in Iran, including the recent protests, with the use of severe violence, arrests and physical force.”
“The strike on the headquarters is part of the current operational phase aimed at further degrading core Iranian terror regime systems and security capabilities,” it added.
🎯STRUCK: Several Iranian terror regime headquarters in Tehran
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) March 23, 2026
Dozens of IAF fighter jets used 100+ munitions in the strikes that targeted:
• A Quds Force base used as a command post for coordinating and overseeing intelligence & operational activity
• An IRGC aerial defense… pic.twitter.com/tTur69j2EO
Other strikes targeted headquarters of the IRGC’s aerial defense array; several structures belonging to IRGC ground forces inside a large military compound in the heart of Tehran; an IRGC Quds Force command post used to coordinate “intelligence and operational activity"; and a Quds Force intelligence headquarters.
Israeli Air Force fighter jets also targeted a naval cruise missile manufacturing site operated by Tehran’s Defense Ministry and “additional manufacturing sites and research facilities related to electronics, ballistic missiles and warheads,” according to the statement.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday he had spoken with U.S. President Donald Trump about a potential deal with Iran, as Israeli airstrikes continued in Iran and Lebanon.
“Earlier today, I spoke with our friend, President Trump,” Netanyahu said in Hebrew, adding that Trump sees an opportunity to “leverage the tremendous achievements we have reached alongside the U.S. military to realize the goals of the war through an agreement.”
Netanyahu said Israel was “smashing” Iran’s missile and nuclear programs while continuing strikes against Hezbollah.
He noted that the Jewish state “eliminated two more nuclear scientists” in recent days and vowed Israel “will safeguard our vital interests under all circumstances.”
The statement came after Trump said he had ordered a five-day pause on U.S. military strikes against Iranian energy infrastructure following negotiations with Iran.
The recent talks were “in depth, detailed, and constructive,” he wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform, suggesting negotiations could lead to a “complete and total resolution” of the conflict with the Islamic regime.
Trump subsequently told CNBC‘s Joe Kernen that he hoped that within the coming five days, “something very substantive” could be achieved in talks toward an end in hostilities.
“Discussions have been very good over the last 48 hours, very intense discussions,” the president told CNBC. Trump insisted that “this is regime change,” as many Iranian representatives have been eliminated during the war.
However, an Iranian source told the country’s Fars News, which is affiliated with the IRGC, that there were no talks between Tehran and Washington.
“There has been no direct or indirect contact with Trump,” the source claimed, adding that Trump “backed down” after being warned Iran would target “all power plants in West Asia” if its own energy infrastructure was targeted.
The U.S.-Israeli military campaign against the Iranian regime, known as “Operation Epic Fury/Roaring Lion,” has been met with Tehran by missile and drone strikes across the Middle East and beyond.
Religious Zionism lawmaker Ohad Tal told JNS on Tuesday that the war with Iran must conclude in a way that leaves Tehran without the capacity to threaten the region or the wider world.
“It must also send a sharp and clear message to all exporters of terror: You will pay an unbearable price. The Iranian people deserve to be freed from an Islamic tyranny that has oppressed them and massacred tens of thousands,” he said.
“These are the desired outcomes, and they are fully shared by both Israel and the United States. The paths to achieving them are varied, and there may be surprises along the way. However, the goals will be achieved,” he added.
