Missile attacks targeting Iran's power infrastructure, reportedly launched from Israel.
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Title: A Close Look at Israel-Iran's Unrelenting Conflict
Israel is delivering some serious hammer blows to Iran's power structures amidst their ongoing feud, yet Iran's sworn adversary doesn't seem to slow down in its rocket attacks against the Jewish nation. Despite Israel's robust defense systems, incidents have occurred in the country's heartland, resulting in three fatalities and numerous injuries, according to Magen David Adom rescue services, as reported by the Times of Israel.
Previously, Iranian assaults claimed over a dozen lives and hundreds of injuries in Israel. In Iran, roughly 224 people have lost their lives, and nearly 1,300 have been injured since Israel initiated a massive offensive on Friday night, as per an Iranian health ministry representative.
The Fall of Revolutionary Guards' Intelligence Leader
Israel's military announced on Telegram that citizens can now leave their safe havens. Search and rescue teams are currently deployed at numerous locations across the country, as per army reports. Earlier, Israel's air force declared that they had targeted ground-to-ground missile launch sites within Iran, aiming to prevent another attack from occurring.
The Tasnim news agency confirmed the deaths of the head of the intelligence service of Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guards and his deputy, Mohammad Kasem and Hassan Mohaghegh, in attacks on Tehran's capital. Notably, these figures have been previous targets of Israel.
Reports suggest that the oil ministry, police headquarters, and other state institutions were also attacked in Tehran. Earlier, assaults on the defense ministry, a state atomic research organization, and an oil depot in the metropolis were disclosed. However, Iranian reports also mentioned Israeli attacks on residential areas.
Israel's Aim: To Overthrow Iran's Leadership?
When asked if the ultimate goal was also the overthrow of Iran's leadership, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to Fox News: "It could certainly be the result. The Iranian regime is very weak." He added that a majority of Iranians would like to remove the Islamic state leadership.
Netanyahu declined to comment on a Reuters report that US President Donald Trump had recently opposed Israeli plans to assassinate Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He merely stated that there were "many unfounded reports about conversations that never took place."
Meanwhile, the Tasnim news agency, which is viewed as the mouthpiece of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, published photographs of ruined houses. Traffic jams formed on the roads exiting Tehran, with numerous residents leaving the city out of fear of Israeli attacks.
Israel argues that its attacks aim to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear bomb. Tehran's leadership insists that its nuclear program serves only peaceful purposes.
According to Israeli reports, the uranium enrichment facility in Natanz was among the targets. An Israeli official told the Wall Street Journal that there were signs that the underground part of the nuclear facility might have "caved in," but more investigation is required.
Expert: Iran's Nuclear Program Remains Intact
Israel has targeted key components of the production chain for an atomic bomb, the newspaper reported, citing Israeli officials and employees of the UN nuclear agency. In the nuclear facility in the city of Isfahan, several buildings were destroyed, two of which were essential for the production of an atomic weapon. According to the assessment of Israeli Iran expert Sima Shine, who once worked for the Mossad foreign intelligence agency, no significant damage has yet been inflicted on the Iranian nuclear program.
The greatest challenge for Israel remains the annihilation of the deeply buried and thus most secure Iranian nuclear facility in Fordo, where uranium is enriched. Many experts believe that the nuclear facility in Fordo can only be destroyed with a so-called bunker-buster bomb, a weapon Israel supposedly lacks and cannot deliver using their current aircraft.
The ongoing course of the war will decide whether Israel will achieve its goal of destroying or delay by years the Iranian nuclear program, the US newspaper wrote. Should Israel fail, Iran may accelerate its - repeatedly denied by Tehran - efforts to build an atomic bomb.
Iran's Missile Program is Not Left Alone
Prime Minister Netanyahu also cited Iran's missile program as a reason for the attacks. The Israeli Air Force has initiated a series of attacks on dozens of targets in western Iran, where ground-to-ground missiles are said to be stationed.
Currently, Iran is estimated to possess around 2,000 such missiles. Meanwhile, Israel's military claims to have established air dominance from the west of Iran to Tehran, making it more difficult for Iran to strike Israel.
US President Trump has expressed openness to the idea of Russian President Vladimir Putin acting as a mediator in the conflict. "I would be open to it," Trump said to the ABC broadcaster. Putin had called him about it. According to the Kremlin, Russia's president, who ordered the invasion of Ukraine nearly three and a half years ago, proposed himself as a mediator in the conflict between Israel and Iran during a telephone conversation with Trump on Saturday. Despite Russia's close ties with Iran, it received significant quantities of drones from Iran for its aggressive war against Ukraine.
- The ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran, often a subject of war-and-conflicts news, has become increasingly intense as Israel continues its rocket attacks against Iran, while Iran responds with attacks of its own.
- In the middle of this escalation, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has hinted at the potential goal of overthrowing Iran's leadership, stating that the Iranian regime is weak and that a majority of Iranians desire to remove the Islamic state leadership. However, the integrity of Iran's nuclear program remains a matter of debate, with experts such as Sima Shine suggesting that no significant damage has been inflicted thus far.
