Israeli military says it launched wide-scale wave of strikes in Tehran

Israel’s military has been ordered by the country’s political leadership to shift to striking economic targets in Iran after nearly completing attacks on military sites defined at the start of the conflict, The Times of Israel reported on Monday.

The report said Israel believes it has largely achieved its initial objective of degrading Iran’s military capabilities and is now entering what it described as a “completion phase.”

Israeli leaders have directed the military to target sites aimed at causing economic damage, including gas infrastructure and major steel facilities, with further such strikes planned, the report said.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard says it has targeted a container ship it identified as "Express Room", calling it an Israeli-owned vessel navigating under a third country's flag.

A Liberian-flagged vessel named "Express Rome" was sailing in the Persian Gulf en route from Khalifa Port in the United Arab Emirates to Dammam in Saudi Arabia, according to MarineTraffic data from around 10 hours earlier.

On March 11, the IRGC similarly claimed it had struck the same container ship.

Talks with Iran are continuing and progressing well, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Monday.

"Despite ⁠all of the ‌public ​posturing you hear from ​the regime and ⁠false reporting, talks ‌are continuing and ​going well. What is said ‌publicly is, of ​course, much different than what's being communicated ​to us privately," she said.

She said the movement of oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, including 10 previously announced vessels and a further 20 expected in the coming days, was the result of direct and indirect talks between the United States and Iran.

Leavitt said President Donald Trump wants to see a deal by April 6 and that the timeline is nearing its end.

She added that President Donald Trump would be interested in calling on Arab countries to help cover the cost of the war.

United Nations experts said on Monday that any effort to end the war between the United States, Israel and Iran must prioritize the human rights of people in Iran, warning that recent strikes have worsened an already severe situation.

“The people of Iran are under attack from outside and from within,” the experts said.

They said military strikes by the United States and Israel had increased civilian casualties, displacement and pressure on infrastructure, while longstanding human rights concerns persisted.

“The US-Israeli military strikes not only violate the UN Charter but have dramatically worsened these conditions and intensified internal repression,” they said.

The experts also pointed to executions, restrictions on civil liberties and limited access to information, including a prolonged internet shutdown.

“An end to the war is urgent and necessary but it will not on its own resolve Iran’s human rights crisis,” they said.

They called for any diplomatic process to include the release of detainees, restoration of internet access, accountability for violations and broader protections for civilians.

Iran's security forces killed thousands of protesters in Mashhad and Isfahan during the January 8–9 protests, among the deadliest days of the nationwide uprising.

The third episode of “A Massacre in Iran” examines the nights of killings in Mashhad, Najafabad, and Isfahan, including previously unseen footage.

Narrated by Iran International’s Farnoush Faraji, the documentary draws on eyewitness accounts and local sources.