South Korea urges Iran to ensure safe navigation in Strait of Hormuz

At least 36 civilians were killed and 138 injured across Iran on March 23, according to figures compiled by the rights group HRANA.

The group said the casualties were recorded from the first minutes of the day until the end of March 23, Tehran time.

Aggregated data collected by HRANA since the start of the conflict on February 28 indicates that at least 1,443 civilians have been killed, including 217 children.

The figures are based on incidents recorded by the group and use minimum values for cases where casualties were reported as “more than” a specific number.

At least 36 civilians were killed and 138 injured across Iran on March 23, according to figures compiled by the rights group HRANA.

The group said the casualties were recorded from the first minutes of the day until the end of March 23, Tehran time.

Aggregated data collected by HRANA since the start of the conflict on February 28 indicates that at least 1,443 civilians have been killed, including 217 children.

The figures are based on incidents recorded by the group and use minimum values for cases where casualties were reported as “more than” a specific number.

Exchanging threats—sometimes several times a day—has become the dominant mode of communication between Tehran and Washington.

The IRGC-linked Fars News Agency denied that any contact had taken place between the two sides, while a senior commander escalated the rhetoric live on Iran’s state broadcaster.

“We will hit you so hard that your dentures will be knocked out of your mouth.”

Major General Abdollahi of the IRGC’s Khatam al-Anbia Headquarters also vowed to deploy “a new secret weapon that will bring an end to the enemy’s operations.”

Over the past two days, following Trump’s threat to strike Iran’s power-generation infrastructure unless Tehran unconditionally opens the Strait of Hormuz, several Iranian commanders and officials have issued counter-threats.

The core message was captured in an IRGC statement quoted by Entekhab on March 23: “We will respond to any attack immediately and at the same level.”

Entekhab also cited an IRGC spokesperson elaborating on Tehran’s position: “They hit schools and hospitals, but we did not reciprocate. If they attack power plants, we will strike power plants in countries that host US bases.” That would include much of the Middle East.

In a March 22 post on X, Esmail Saghab Esfahani, Iran’s vice president for energy optimization and strategic management, responded to Trump’s ultimatum.

“The Strait of Hormuz game has put so much pressure on Trump that he has issued a 48-hour ultimatum—unaware that the next move, which is the destruction of the most important electricity and water infrastructure of the Zionist regime and the United States in the region, will put even more pressure on him,” he wrote.

Saghab Esfahani also suggested that residents of Israel and people in countries hosting Iran’s adversaries would be wise to store water and charge their phones during those 48 hours.

Nour News, an outlet close to Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, responded with a mix of defiance and warning.

“Trump’s threat to destroy Iran’s electrical infrastructure is an explicit admission of a war crime and a sign of desperation,” it said.

In the hours before Trump’s deadline, a different narrative was circulating among many Iranian social-media users—particularly within opposition circles.

Rather than targeting infrastructure that ultimately serves the Iranian public, they urged the United States and Israel to focus on dismantling the security apparatus that underpins the state’s repressive machinery.

The tension was heightened further by an IRGC statement announcing what it described as a shift in Iran’s military doctrine—from a defensive posture to an offensive one.

As for ordinary Iranians, many appear increasingly anxious about how attacks on infrastructure might affect their already strained daily lives.

In Tehran—unlike in US markets—there has been no calm after Trump’s announcements. The drums of war are growing louder.

The global benchmark oil price, Brent crude, rose to just over $104 per barrel late Monday, recovering some of the losses recorded earlier in the day.

Prices had dropped sharply from nearly $113 to around $97 after President Donald Trump said the United States and Iran were holding “productive conversations.”

The rebound later in the day suggests markets remain uncertain about the trajectory of the war and the potential for disruptions to energy supplies.

An editorial published Tuesday by Iran’s IRGC-linked Tasnim News Agency said claims about behind-the-scenes negotiations between Tehran and Washington are part of a strategy to create divisions within Iran.

The commentary argued that proposals for secret talks involving only part of Iran’s political establishment reflected a “complex design by the enemy” aimed at undermining unity during the war.

It also dismissed reports circulating Monday that Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf could be involved in negotiations, saying the suggestion was intended to trigger political infighting inside the country.

The editorial insisted that Iran already has a unified framework, approved by all centers of power, for how the country should approach an eventual exit from the war.