Waves of U.S. and Israeli overnight strikes destroyed the Iranian regime’s command and control centers, ballistic missile capabilities, warships, and airbases.
As the joint strike—codenamed Operation Epic Fury by the U.S. and Operation Roaring Lion by Israel—enters its seventh day, the allied forces bolstered their air supremacy over Iran, and continue to degrade the regime’s ability to fire ballistic missiles.
“We destroyed approximately 80% of Iran’s air defense systems and achieved near-complete air superiority over Iranian skies. Thanks to this, and to precise intelligence, we are striking the ballistic missiles that directly threaten Israeli civilians,” Israeli military’s chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, said Thursday night. “We neutralized and destroyed more than 60% of ballistic missile launchers, a significant achievement that reduces harm to the home front and saves lives.”
Throughout Thursday, the Israeli Air Force struck more than 200 Iranian regime targets, its leadership and long-range strike capabilities, the IDF disclosed Friday morning.
“These strikes join previous strikes that have taken place since the start of the operation, which are focused on dismantling the Iranian regime’s ballistic missile array,” the statement added. “Since the beginning of the operation, hundreds of launch sites across Iran have been struck – especially in western Iran – in order to reduce missile launches toward the State of Israel.”
The regime forces suffered another big blow as U.S. forces destroyed a massive Iranian drone carrier. “The U.S. military said early Friday that an Iranian drone carrier was attacked and set ablaze,” the Associated Press reported. “The message from the U.S. military’s Central Command showed black-and-white footage of the carrier ablaze after multiple strikes hit it.”
Meanwhile, more American bombers were heading to the region. The London Evening Standard reported Thursday that “US bombers are expected to arrive in Britain within days for missions to target Iran’s weapons systems.” Prime Minister Keir Starmer had “refused to allow America to use the bases for the initial and offensive attacks on Iran,” the newspaper noted.
The news comes after Central Command, on Wednesday, announced that “U.S. forces are expanding strikes deeper into Iranian airspace by the hour.”
Having successfully degraded Iran’s current long-range strike capabilities, the joint U.S.-Israeli operation appears to be turning its attention to the regime’s military industrial complex. After a week focused on missile launchers and stockpiles, Israel and the United States are shifting to strike Iran’s military industry, targeting factories, assembly plants and supply chains behind its missiles and drones in a bid to cripple production,” Israel’s Ynetnews observed on Friday.
The Israeli military released an aerial footage of the strike that eliminated Iranian dictator Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday. Around 50 Israeli fighter jets took part in the early morning strike that hit Khamenei’s underground “bunker beneath the Iranian regime’s leadership compound in Tehran,” the IDF said.
After the Iranian proxy terror group, Hezbollah, entered the war by launching missile attacks at Israel, the IDF launched a large-scale air and ground operation. Since Tuesday, Israel carried out over two dozen waves of strikes on the Dahiyeh neighbourhood of south Beirut, where the Hezbollah terrorist leadership and fighting forces are concentrated.
“Israel carried out at least 11 airstrikes, some intense and causing fires near a gas station, late Thursday into Friday targeting the southern suburbs of Beirut,” the Associated Press reported. “The Israeli army had issued a warning Thursday evening urging residents in the densely populated areas to evacuate.”
The Israeli Air Force “struck overnight Hezbollah command centers and multi-story structures in which were terror sites in Beirut,” the Israeli military said Friday morning. “Overnight, the Israeli Air Force, guided by IDF intelligence, completed a broad-scale wave of strikes in Beirut against Hezbollah terror infrastructure.”
Iran, desperate to drag the region into the war, continued to launch missiles and drones at neighbouring Arab Gulf states. Armed forces of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait intercepted more Iranian ballistic missiles.
Israeli TV channel i24NEWS reported Friday morning:
The Kuwaiti Army said its air defenses intercepted a missile attack, with debris causing “limited material damage to a vehicle,” but no injuries were reported. In Manama, the Bahraini Interior Ministry said Iranian drones targeted two residential buildings and one hotel, causing material damage but no casualties. Sirens were also reported in Bahrain earlier during the wave of attacks. (…)Saudi air defenses intercepted three ballistic missiles launched toward Prince Sultan Air Base, southeast of Riyadh, the Saudi Defense Ministry said. Shortly afterward, authorities reported shooting down an Iranian drone in the kingdom’s eastern region. The ministry later said another Iranian drone was intercepted east of Al-Kharj Governorate.
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