The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) carried out a new wave of airstrikes across Iran as Operation “Rising Lion” entered its third day. “The IDF began a new round of strikes on targets in Iran on Sunday after explosions were heard in the area of the Imam Khomeini International Airport at Vahnabad,” the Israeli news website Ynetnews reported
After eliminating at least nine senior-most nuclear weapons exports in the initial wave of IDF strikes, Israel took out another rogue scientist in a targeted strike. “The Iranian news agency ISNA reported at the same time that Ali Baaqawi, a nuclear scientist from the northern Iranian city of Mazandaran, was killed in a targeted strike,” the news outlet added.
Israeli warplanes, on Sunday, destroyed an Iranian mid-air refueling aircraft as the IDF establishes air superiority over large parts of Iran, including the capital, Tehran.
“The IDF struck Mashhad Shahid Hasheminejad International Airport in northeast Iran on Sunday afternoon,” the Jerusalem Post reported, citing Israeli military sources. “The airstrike targeted an Iranian aerial refueling aircraft, the military stated, as part of the Israel Air Force’s attempts to establish aerial superiority over Iranian airspace.”
In a major coordinated strike, a wave of Israeli fighter jets hit the headquarters of Iran’s nuclear program in Tehran. According to the IDF, “approximately 50 fighter jets struck infrastructure and targets of the Iranian nuclear project in Tehran.”
“Throughout the night, Israeli Air Force fighter jets flew over Tehran and struck infrastructure and targets of the Iranian nuclear project, under the guidance of the Intelligence Directorate,” the IDF statement added. “The strike targeted more than 80 objectives, including the headquarters of the Iranian Ministry of Defense, the headquarters of the nuclear project (SPND), and additional targets where the Iranian regime hid the nuclear archive.”
Israel was reportedly hitting Iran’s oil and gas infrastructure, a major source for financing the regime’s nuclear and jihadist ambitions. “On Saturday, Israel appeared to have also hit Iran’s oil and gas industry for the first time, with Iranian state media reporting a blaze at a gas field,” Reuters reported.
The Israeli strikes also targeted Iran’s ability to conduct ballistic and long-range missile strikes aimed at Israel. “Overnight…, the IAF struck and dismantled armed and ready-to-use surface-to-surface launchers in Iran,” the military revealed Sunday. “Additionally, the IAF struck launchers that fired missiles toward the State of Israel.”
The IAF was targeting “surface-to-air missile infrastructure and detection radar systems” across Iran, the military said.
Israeli fighter jets also struck an Iranian missile storage site in western Iran. “Overnight, missile launchers were identified and struck in Iran. Over the past hour, the IAF completed an additional series of strikes on storage and missile launch infrastructure sites in western Iran,” the IDF statement added.
Since the operation began, the Israeli fighter jets “struck over 170 targets and more than 720 military infrastructure components in less than three days,” the Israeli military announced in a press release Sunday morning. “The IDF continues to intensify the blow to the Iranian nuclear threat, targeting its heart and depriving it of critical capabilities and components for weapon production.”
Unable to counter precision strikes on its nuclear and military facilities, the Iranian regime is resorting to indiscriminate missile attacks on Israeli towns and cities. Ten Israeli civilians were reported killed in an overnight barrage of ballistic missiles from Iran, and over 200 were injured, Israeli media outlets reported Sunday.
“Israel continues to recover from one of the deadliest escalations in its ongoing conflict with Iran after an unprecedented overnight missile barrage left at least 10 people dead, including two children, and hundreds wounded,” the Israeli TV channel i24NEWS reported Sunday afternoon. “Rescue operations remain underway, with emergency services still searching for survivors trapped beneath collapsed buildings.”
This indiscriminate attack on Israeli population centers is not limited to missile strikes originating from Iran; the Mullah regime’s proxy terrorist groups– such as the Yemen-based Houthis — were also firing rockets and drones at Israel. “The Iranian barrage, launched in response to Israeli airstrikes on Tehran’s nuclear infrastructure, included not only missiles but also reports of drone activity and launches from additional regional actors, including Yemen. Israel continues to face simultaneous threats across multiple fronts,” the TV channel noted.
While the Iron Dome and other air defense systems were capable of intercepting most of these projectiles, some of them did manage to slip through Israel’s defensive shield. “At this time, the IAF is operating to intercept and strike where necessary to eliminate the threat,” the Israeli military said in a statement Sunday. “The defense is not hermetic, therefore, it is essential to continue following the instructions of the Home Front Command.”
The IDF’s Home Front Command, responsible for the safety of the civilians in times of conflict, had instructed people to stay close to bomb shelters or other protected spaces ahead of possible strikes.
“The Home Front Command has now instructed residents across the country to remain close to protected spaces. Movement in public areas should be minimized, and public gatherings must be avoided,” the IDF said in a statement Sunday morning. “Upon receiving an alert, enter a protected space and remain there until an official update is issued.”
Those orders were revoked later in the day, with the military giving an ‘all-clear’ notice.
Israel may have succeeded in eliminating almost the entire top intelligence commander of the Iranian regime, Israeli news outlets say.
Mohammad Kazemi, head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) intelligence organization, and his second-in-command, Hassan Mohaghegh, were killed in an Israeli strike on their command center, initial reports suggest.
“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that Israel killed Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps intelligence chief Brigadier General Mohammad Kazemi and his deputy, General Hassan Mohaqiq,” The Times of Israel reported.
According to Iranian sources, they were trapped in the rubble following the strike. “Head of the IRGC Intelligence Mohammad Kazemi and his deputy, Hassan Mohaqqeq, are reportedly trapped under rubble following an Israeli strike on an IRGC building in Tehran, Iran International reported Sunday,” the Jerusalem Post. “Their condition is currently unknown.”
The Israeli news website Ynetnews reported Sunday afternoon:
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) appears to have suffered a significant blow Sunday afternoon, as a targeted Israeli strike in central Tehran reportedly killed top figures in its intelligence directorate.According to initial reports, the high command of the IRGC’s intelligence wing was among those eliminated in the strike, marking one of the most serious direct hits on Iran’s internal security apparatus since the beginning of Israel’s preemptive Operation Rising Lion.The exact identities and number of casualties have not been officially confirmed by Iranian authorities, but sources suggest the attack was aimed at the upper echelon of the IRGC’s intelligence leadership.
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