Huge explosions are being reported in Iran as Israel carries out airstrikes — in a major escalation in the Middle East.
Videos emerging in social media about Israeli Air Force’s F-35I stealth jets reigns over Tehran skies. The F-35I strikes Iranian missile factory using Rocks and Rampage missiles.
The name of the operation is dubbed by the military “Days of Repentance.”
According to the military, dozens of Israeli Air Force aircraft, including F-35I Adir fighter jets, refuelers, and spy planes, participated in the strikes some 1,600 kilometers from Israel.
The aircraft safely returned to Israel following the “complex” operation, it says.
The strikes were carried out in several waves over the course of several hours, in various areas of Iran.
The IDF says the strikes targeted Iranian military sites, including air defense batteries and ballistic missile manufacturing sites — those used in direct Iranian attacks on Israel on October 1 and April 14.
Additionally, the military says the strikes have given the IAF “wider freedom of aerial action in Iran,” and that it has a wide bank of targets that it can hit in future operations if required.
Donald Trump has said it is fortunate Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu didn’t listen to President Joe Biden. “It’s clear that relations between Benjamin Netanyahu and President Biden have deteriorated,” ASPI Senior Fellow Mark Watson said. “I don’t think there’s a lot of actual communication going on there.
Israel says it has completed a series of “precise strikes on military targets” in Iran — in a major escalation in the Middle East.
An attack on Iran has been anticipated since the Islamic nation launched nearly 200 ballistic missiles on Israel almost a month ago.
The Israeli military said on Saturday it had struck the Islamic republic’s missile manufacturing facilities, surface-to-air missile arrays and other aerial capabilities across several areas of the country.
“Based on intelligence, IAF (air force) aircraft struck missile manufacturing facilities used to produce the missiles that Iran fired at the State of Israel over the last year,” the military said in a statement.
Iranian state TV said “strong explosions” were heard around the capital Tehran, without specifying the cause of the blasts.
“Minutes ago, the sound of strong explosions were heard from around Tehran, the source of these sounds is not yet clear,” a state TV presenter said.
It later said “six loud blasts” were heard in areas of Tehran.
In an earlier statement, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed that it had begun to launch strikes against Iran.
“In response to months of continuous attacks from the regime in Iran against the state of Israel — right now the Israel Defense Forces is conducting precise strikes on military targets in Iran,” the IDF said in a statement posted to X.
Iranian media however has reported the loud explosions in Tehran were due to “air defence activity” and that no bombs had hit the city.
Despite this, the nation has closed its airspace amid the Israeli strikes, according to the country’s state media agency Irna.
The country cancelled all flights until further notice, a spokesperson for Iran’s Civil Aviation Organisation told the outlet.
Since the deadliest attack in its history on October 7, 2023, Israel has been fighting Iran-backed Hamas in Gaza.
It has since broadened the scope of its operations to Lebanon, vowing to secure its northern border after nearly a year of cross-border attacks by Iran-backed Hezbollah.
“Our defensive and offensive capabilities are fully mobilised,” the Israeli military said in a statement.
Military spokesman Daniel Hagari in a separate statement called on the people to be “alert and vigilant”.
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