Israel and Iran ramp up attacks as Trump insists Tehran wants a deal

Special Series Middle East conflict Conflict in the Middle East has been escalating. These stories provide context for current developments and the history that led up to them. By NPR Staff People look at a destroyed apartment after a hit of a ballistic missile fired from Iran, left two injured on Wednesday in Bnei Brak, Israel. Amir Levy/Getty Images hide caption The war in the Middle East ramped up on Thursday as Israel launched a wave of strikes targeting Iranian infrastructure in the central city of Isfahan, and said it killed the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard's navy. Iran hit back, firing two rounds of missiles at central Israel causing destruction and injuries. Israel was also under attack from a wave of rockets from Iran-backed fighters in Lebanon, and an Israeli soldier in Lebanon was killed. proposal and submitted conditions in return. Here are more updates on Day 27 of the Iran war. To jump to specific areas of coverage, use the links below: Thursday strikes | Negotiation claims | Kharg Island | Germany slams the U.S. Ilya Yefimovich/AFP via Getty Images hide caption NPR's Daniel Estrin in Tel Aviv spoke to two military officials who said Israel wants to keep fighting and is hoping for several more weeks of war in Iran. A person briefed on the operation told NPR the Israeli military is speeding up its targeting in Iran over the next 48 hours, focusing on trying to hit Iran's arms factories as much as possible — in case a ceasefire is declared. The Israeli military said on social media it had completed a "wave of extensive strikes in Isfahan … targeting infrastructure." Israel's defense minister, Israel Katz, said his country had killed Alireza Tangsiri, the head of Iranian Revolutionary Guard's navy, in an overnight strike. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about it. The military reported a soldier on the ground in Lebanon had been killed, naming him as 21-year-old Sgt. Ori Greenberg. Israel says its airstrikes continue in southern Lebanon, in advance of what Israeli officials say will be a "prolonged" ground invasion targeting Iran-backed Hezbollah militants. Hezbollah began firing rockets at northern Israel this month in support of Iran and after months of Israel's attacks in Lebanon despite a ceasefire. Israeli officials say a civilian woman was killed by their rocket fire this week. More than a dozen people in Israel have also been killed by Iranian attacks since the start of the war. Israeli officials say they plan to take Lebanese territory up to the Litani River, which runs 10 to 20 miles north of the border with Israel. Hezbollah says it targeted a group of Israeli soldiers inside that area with a drone. In remarks at a Republican fundraising dinner on Wednesday night, the president insisted Iran was looking to do a deal but didn't want to admit it because they were afraid their citizens would turn on them. Nobody's ever seen anything like we're doing in the Middle East with Iran. And they are negotiating, by the way, and they want to make a deal so badly, but they're afraid to say it because they figure they'll be killed by their own people," he said. "They're also afraid they'll be killed by us. There's never been a head of a country that wanted that job less than being the head of Iran." Under a proposed U.S. plan Iran would end its nuclear program, stop supporting proxy militias in the Middle East, reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and limit its missile program. In exchange Iran would get relief from sanctions. People wave national flags and hold portraits of Iran's supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei as they march in support of the Iranian armed forces in central Tehran on March 25, 2026. AFP via Getty Images hide caption But Iran rejected the proposal, and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the country wants to end the war only on "our own terms." Iran has given five conditions: "end to aggression by the enemy, concrete guarantees preventing the recurrence of war, clear determination, guaranteed payment of war damages and compensation, comprehensive end to the war across all fronts, incl. against all resistance groups, recognition of Iran's sovereignty over Strait of Hormuz." Iranian officials have insisted they are not negotiating with the U.S., saying the countries have only exchanged messages via regional intermediaries. The U.S. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius gave a frank assessment of the war in remarks on a trip to Australia. "To make it crystal clear, this war is a catastrophe for the world's economies," he told reporters. "What really concerns me the most about that war is there was no consultation, there is no strategy, there is no clear objective and the worst thing from my perspective is that there is no exit strategy," he said. He also criticized Washington's changing demands of Europe, noting the U.S. had asked Europe to ramp up its defense spending and told it to focus on its own backyard. "That was before the war started against Iran. Now, the arguments are different. Now they are saying: 'Where are you, you are cowards, you don't help us,'" Pistorius said. He was referring to Trump calling NATO allies cowards after they declined his request to help the U.S. reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Pistorius said while Germany would not be getting involved in the war, they could help secure the vital economic waterway once a ceasefire is agreed. About one-fifth of the world's oil passes through the Strait, but Iran has essentially blocked most traffic since the start of the war. A oil tanker is docked unloading crude oil at the port in Qingdao, in China's eastern Shandong province, on March 25, 2026. Oil prices edged higher in Asia trading, with Brent crude trading around $100 a barrel. Asian and European stock markets also opened lower on Thursday. On Thursday morning alerts sounded in the United Arab Emirates. Two people were killed in Abu Dhabi by falling debris after a successful missile interception, officials said. Airlines in what used to be one of the globe's busiest regions for air travel continue to suffer. Oman Air announced flight cancellations to numerous regional countries as well as parts of Europe until April 15. Sultan al-Jaber, who heads the huge state-run Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., accused Iran of "economic terrorism" for its stranglehold over the Strait of Hormuz. In comments at Washington's Middle East Institute he said: "When Iran holds Hormuz hostage, every nation pays the ransom, at the gas pump, at the grocery store and at the pharmacy. No country can be allowed to destabilize the global economy in this way." Daniel Estrin in Tel Aviv, Israel, Diaa Hadid in Mumbai, India, Lauren Frayer in Beirut, Emily Feng in Van, Turkey, Jackie Northam in Maine, Kate Bartlett in Johannesburg and Alex Leff in Washington contributed to this report. Sponsor Message Become an NPR sponsor