United States airstrikes on Iran appeared to have expanded early Monday, with reports indicating that a wider range of locations in the country’s southern and western regions came under attack. The latest strikes reportedly targeted Qeshm, Sirik, Bandar Abbas, Jask, Bushehr, Khondab, Bandar Mahshahr, Behbahan, Andimeshk, Dezful, Ahvaz, Abadan, and Khorramshahr. Iranian media outlet Eskan News reported on its Telegram channel that the latest wave of attacks targeted more locations than in previous operations. However, the claims could not be independently verified, while neither the United States nor Iranian authorities had immediately confirmed the full scale of the reported strikes. The reported escalation came amid renewed calls for retaliation by Iran’s Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, over the killing of his father in a February 28 airstrike. In a message issued following the burial of the former supreme leader, Khamenei described revenge for his father’s death as “a national demand,” declaring that it would “most certainly be carried out.”The statement has strengthened demands from Iranian hardliners for a concrete response, while raising questions about how the threats of retaliation align with Tehran’s stated willingness to pursue diplomacy. Iran’s judiciary chief, Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei, who was recently reappointed for another five-year term, welcomed Khamenei’s declaration.“We will pursue and punish the murderers of the martyred Imam,” Mohseni-Ejei wrote on X.