Israeli fighter jets on Sunday night struck the administrative compound of Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison, media reports suggest.
“Footage from the attack shows one strike hitting the entrance gate to the prison,” The Jerusalem Post reported Monday. “The strike was deliberately targeted at the entrance gate so as to avoid hitting the inmate housing,” the newspaper reported, citing Iranian sources.
Evin Prison, which detains opponents of the regime and kidnapped foreigners, is infamous for rape and torture of inmates by the the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) thugs that runs the facility and answer only to Iran’s tyrant Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Noting the significance of the airstrike, the Israeli news website Ynetnews wrote that “strike on Evin — a facility long associated with the imprisonment of political dissidents and dual nationals — marks one of the most symbolically charged actions in Israel’s ongoing campaign against Iran.”
“The prison has housed many of the regime’s most prominent political prisoners, particularly following the 2009 mass protests over disputed presidential elections. Despite efforts by Iranian lawmakers to introduce reforms — including installing CCTV cameras — allegations of torture and abuse have persisted,” the news outlet added.
Other regime targets struck by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) include the headquarters of IRGC-affiliated Basij militia and the so-called “Destruction of Israel” clock in the heart of Tehran.
The Tehran’s landmark digital clock was counting down to the destruction of Israel in the year 2040, a reference to the prophecy made by Khamenei, the dictator of Iran and the ‘spiritual leader’ of Shia Muslims across the world.
“One symbolic target was the so-called “Destruction of Israel” clock located in Tehran’s Palestine Square,” the i24NEWS TV channel reported. “Erected in 2017 by Iranian authorities, the clock is a provocative installation that counts down to the year 2040, based on a prediction by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that Israel will cease to exist by then.”
The Times of Israel reported:
Defense Minister Israel Katz details the targets of the wave of Israeli strikes in Tehran.“The IDF is currently striking with unprecedented force regime targets and governmental repression bodies in the heart of Tehran, including the Basij headquarters, the Evin Prison for political prisoners and regime opponents, the ‘Destruction of Israel’ clock in Palestine Square, the internal security headquarters of the Revolutionary Guards, the ideology headquarters, and other regime targets,” Katz says in statement.There are no reports of prisoners hurt in the strike, which was apparently intended to allow the detainees to escapeThe clock, erected in the heart of Tehran in 2017, counts down to Israel’s ostensible demise by 2040.
The pinpointed strikes in and around Tehran were focused on targets belonging to the IRGC and the regime’s security forces. “A short while ago, the Israeli Air Force fighter jets, guided by precise intelligence from the IDF Intelligence Directorate, struck command centers and assets belonging to the Internal Security Forces and the IRGC in Tehran, Iran,” the IDF said in a statement Monday. “These forces consist of various corps and command centers, and are responsible, on behalf of the Iranian regime’s military, for defending the homeland security, suppressing threats, and maintaining the regime’s stability.”
The strikes also targeted the regime’s most loyal Basij militia. The 600,000-men strong Shia-jihadist militia within the IRGC is often used by the regime to terrorize the population and crush street protests.
“As part of the strike, the headquarters of the Basij was targeted. The Basij is one of the IRGC’s central armed bases of power. Alongside its other fuctions, it is also responsible for enforcing the Islamic law and reporting civilians who violate it to the regime authorities,” the IDF added.
Days after the Fordo nuclear facility in central Iran was struck as part of the Operation ‘Midnight Hammer’ ordered by President Donald Trump, the Israeli Air Force followed up with renewed strikes in and around the site.
Fordo, Iran’s most fortified nuclear facility, buried nearly 100 meters underground, was hit, on Saturday night, by 30000-pound ‘bunker busters’ dropped from U.S. B2 bombers.
The latest Israeli strikes were concentrated on roads or bridges leading up to the underground facility in an apparent bid to prevent Iranian regime forces from reaching the mountainous location, news reports suggest. “The IDF confirms carrying out a strike against the access roads to Iran’s underground Fordo nuclear facility earlier today,” The Times of Israel reported. “It says the strikes were intended to ‘disrupt’ the site’s accessibility, after the US bombed the nuclear facility over the weekend.”
The Israel Hayom newspaper covered the details of the renewed airstrike on Fordo:
Just two day after Operation Midnight Hammer saw US aircraft obliterate Iran’s main nuclear facilities, including the most protected site of Fordo, Israel launched its own attack on the underground enrichment facility.The reports, which have not been concurrent with strikes on targets in Tehran, comes just days after President Donald Trump ordered the military to use the so-called “bunker-buster” munitions to penetrate the mountainside site of Fordo. If Israel attacked the site again on Monday, this could mean it no longer needs such ordinances.Located approximately 100 kilometers (62 miles) south of Tehran, Fordo was constructed inside a mountain, with tunnels extending roughly 80 meters (262 feet) underground. The facility’s fortified design sparked immediate concern among international observers, who viewed its hardened construction as inconsistent with peaceful nuclear purposes.
In the latest round of air and drone strikes, the Israeli military hit 6 Iranian airports, hitting several fighter jets and other warplanes on the runway and in the hangars.
“As part of the effort to expand air superiority over Iranian skies, the IDF struck six Iranian regime airports in western, eastern, and central Iran,” the Israeli military disclosed Monday. “The strikes targeted runways, underground hangars, a refueling aircraft, and Iranian regime F-14, F-5, and AH-1 aircraft.”
The strikes also damaged runways, preventing the regime’s air force from using them in the ongoing conflict. “The IAF impaired takeoff capabilities from these airports, as well as the Iranian military’s ability to operate its air force from them,” the IDF added.
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