Iran hangs two political prisoners over alleged terrorism charges

A new wave of explosions and strikes was reported across several parts of Iran early on Monday, from the Persian Gulf coast and islands in the south to northern cities, according to eyewitness accounts sent to Iran International.

On Kish Island in Hormozgan province, two heavy explosions were reported at 4:50 a.m. Nearby Qeshm Island saw repeated and intense blasts between 4:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m., with residents saying the force of the explosions shook windows. In Bandar Abbas, several heavy explosions were also reported at around 4:30 a.m., while persistent blasts were heard at 5:04 a.m. and some residents said the source may have been in the direction of Larak Island.

Further north, witnesses in Babol in Mazandaran province reported a heavy explosion near the city in the early morning hours.

In Dehgolan in Kurdistan province, reports said facilities linked to the IRGC were hit at around 4:20 a.m., followed by a complete power outage in the city.

In Tabriz, the capital of East Azarbaijan province, heavy srtikes were reported between 11:30 p.m. and 11:50 p.m. on Sunday.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said Washington was making progress in “direct and indirect” negotiations with Tehran and that a deal could emerge quickly.

But he also said he would like the United States to “take the oil in Iran” in an interview with the Financial Times, floating the idea of seizing Kharg Island, the terminal through which most of Iran’s crude exports pass.

“I could only say that we’re doing extremely well in that negotiation. But you never know where they’re at, because we negotiate with them, and then we always have to bomb them,” he told reporters.

“I think we’ll make a deal with them, pretty sure. But it is possible we won’t.”

Markets have struggled to interpret the shifting signals. Oil prices have surged more than 60 percent over the past month amid fears the war could disrupt global energy supplies, with Brent crude trading near $116 a barrel.

Hours before Trump’s remarks, Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf posted a cryptic message on social media using trading jargon that many interpreted as a jab at the US president and his announcements.

“Pre-market so-called ‘news’ or ‘Truth’ is often just a setup for profit-taking. Basically, it’s a reverse indicator,” he wrote. “Do the opposite: If they pump it, short it. If they dump it, go long.”

Ghalibaf has been mentioned in several unofficial reports as playing a leading role in contacts with Washington. Trump referred to him in the FT interview, saying he had authorised more Pakistan-flagged ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.

Aboard Air Force One shortly afterward, Trump suggested that “regime change” had effectively already taken place and that he was now dealing with “professionals.”

“We’re dealing with different people than anybody’s dealt with before. It’s a whole different group of people,” he said. “So I would consider that regime change, and frankly they’ve been very reasonable.”

But the president’s remarks left observers unsure whether diplomacy or escalation would shape the next phase of the conflict, which shows little sign of subsiding after a month of fighting.

Pakistan has renewed its offer to mediate between Washington and Tehran. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said after talks with the foreign ministers of Turkey and Egypt that Islamabad stood ready to help bring both sides to the negotiating table.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump is weighing a plan that could involve US forces entering Iran to seize its stockpile of enriched uranium, a move that would represent a dramatic escalation if pursued.

Reports of loud explosions are emerging from several cities across Iran early Monday morning local time, including Qom, Qazvin, Tehran and the Persian Gulf port city of Bandar Abbas.

Earlier in the night, blasts were also reported in Karaj near Tehran, as well as at a petrochemical site in the northwestern city of Tabriz, according to reports circulating from Iran.

Details remain unclear and there has been no immediate official confirmation of the latest incidents.

US President Donald Trump said Iran will abandon its nuclear ambitions and hand over its enriched material, warning the country risks losing its future if it refuses.

“They are decimated right now. They’re gonna give up nuclear weapons. They’re gonna give us the nuclear dust. They’re gonna do everything that we want to do,” he said.

“They’re gonna go on and maybe have a great country again. But if they don’t do that, they’re not gonna have a country. They’re not even gonna have a country,” he added.

The Shajareh Tayyebeh primary school, located in Minab in Hormozgan province, served boys and girls aged 7 to 12.

The school building stood in an area that once formed part of a Revolutionary Guards naval base but had reportedly been separated from the military compound by a wall for several years. Iranian officials say the school was privately run.

Research by Amnesty International’s Crisis Evidence Lab and its Iran team says US authorities could—and should—have known the building was a school and failed to take feasible precautions to avoid civilian harm.

Amnesty said the findings point at best to a serious intelligence failure by the US military and warned the strike could constitute an indiscriminate attack in violation of international humanitarian law.

Reuters has reported that two sources familiar with the matter said the strike may have resulted from outdated intelligence used during targeting, while an internal US military review found American forces were likely responsible for the attack.

The first strike occurred around 10 a.m. on February 28, when students were resting during a break. The explosion destroyed roughly half of one of the school’s buildings.

Teachers gathered surviving children in the school’s prayer hall and called parents to collect them. Shortly afterward, a second missile struck the same building, killing many of the remaining children, teachers and some parents who had rushed to the scene.

Iranian officials, including the mayor of Minab and the Ministry of Education, say the school was struck three times in total.

Images published by Iranian media in the days after the attack showed rescue workers pulling remains, severed limbs and children’s backpacks from beneath the rubble.

Iranian authorities say 168 people were killed, including about 120 children, as well as teachers and several parents who had come to retrieve their children after the first explosion. Nearly 100 others were reported injured.

The Norway-based human rights group Hengaw says it has independently identified 58 victims so far, including 48 children and 10 adults.

Behind the casualty figures are the stories of children whose lives ended in ordinary moments between lessons.

Among them were three girls—Mahdis Nazari, 7, and Sonar and Niayesh Salehi, both 9—members of their school’s skating team. Photos shared online before the attack show them at training sessions and competitions.

Iran’s skating federation later confirmed their deaths.

Another child whose story has circulated widely online is nine-year-old Mikail Mirdoraghi, a third-grade student. A photograph of him standing on the stairs of his home with a water bottle slung over his shoulder, waving goodbye, has been widely shared.

Mikail’s family had moved from Andimeshk in Khuzestan province to Minab because of his father’s job. After the attack, his 31-year-old mother, Shakiba Derikvand, identified his body among victims placed in refrigerated vehicles.

He was found lying beside his friend Alireza, still clutching his school backpack. His body was largely intact, though his face was bloodied, his mother said.

He was buried three days later in Andimeshk. A widely circulated image shows his grandfather lying beside the flower-covered grave.

“Mikail was afraid of the dark,” he reportedly said. “We always slept beside him. I don’t want him to be alone here at night.”

One of the most haunting details to emerge is a drawing Mikail reportedly made the night before the strike.

Found later in his backpack, it shows a school building with the Iranian flag above it, five children standing in the yard and three missiles descending toward them.