Diplomacy or Deception? Iran Attacks Israel While Claiming to Negotiate
Iranian missiles struck residential Tel Aviv Tuesday, injuring six, hours after Trump hailed 'major points of agreement' — and minutes after an IRGC-linked source promised to 'remove any hope of negotiation.'
While President Donald Trump announced "very good and productive conversations" with Iran on Monday, Iranian missiles tore into Tel Aviv Tuesday morning, injuring six people and damaging three residential buildings. The strike came directly on the heels of an explicit warning from an IRGC-affiliated source that "special plans" would "remove any hope of negotiation."
Trump declared Monday morning that talks with Iran were progressing so well he would delay planned U.S. strikes on Iranian power plants by five days. "We have had very, very strong talks," Trump told reporters. "We have major points of agreement, I would say, almost all points of agreement." He added, "I think there's a very good chance we're going to end up in a deal."
Hours before missiles hit Tel Aviv, Iran's Fars News agency published a blunt threat: "Tonight, special plans are arranged for Tel Aviv and some regional allies of the US and Israel that will completely remove the hope of negotiations from the minds of the aggressors." The strike that followed drove a 100-kilogram warhead into a residential neighborhood, Israeli police reported.
Iran's government simultaneously denied negotiations while acknowledging diplomatic contact. Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf dismissed Trump's claims as "fake news" designed to manipulate financial markets. Yet Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei admitted Tehran received messages from "certain friendly states conveying the U.S. request for negotiations" and said "appropriate responses had been given." The contradiction was stark — and deliberate.
Tuesday's Tel Aviv strike was no isolated incident. Iran has launched over 300 missiles at Israel since Feb. 28, including a March 21 attack on Dimona that injured about 200 people. Through it all, diplomatic backchannels through Pakistan, Turkey and Egypt have stayed open — cover, critics argue, for an unrelenting offensive.
The exchanges signal an escalating conflict that Trump's diplomatic overtures have yet to slow.
Iran's missile stockpile now stands at approximately 1,000 weapons, down from 2,500 at the war's start, according to estimates from the Alma Research Centre. The regime demonstrated a rapid rebuild capacity after last year's conflict, producing 1,000 missiles in eight months following the June 2025 war. The arsenal is shrinking — but it remains lethal.
The ongoing missile campaign is hitting the world in the wallet. International Energy Agency head Fatih Birol warned the disruption has reached 11 million barrels per day — surpassing the 1973 and 1979 oil shocks combined. Iran has effectively sealed the Strait of Hormuz, permitting only ships from countries it deems "friendly or neutral" to pass, strangling global energy markets.
Iran's strategic direction sharpened Tuesday with the appointment of Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr as head of the Supreme National Security Council. A former IRGC commander with a hardline record, Zolghadr replaces slain predecessor Ali Larijani. The move places a soldier, not a diplomat, at the center of Iran's decision-making.
Regional fallout spread fast. Lebanon declared Iran's ambassador persona non grata Tuesday, ordering him out by March 29. Saudi Arabia intercepted 19 drones targeting its Eastern Province oil region, and the United Arab Emirates absorbed its 357th ballistic missile since February.
The pattern is unmistakable: a regime wielding diplomacy as tactical cover while its missiles keep flying. With hardliners now entrenched in Tehran's key posts and stockpiles being spent — and rebuilt — the window for any genuine deal grows narrower by the day.