The Israeli Army confirmed on Friday the continuation of its attacks on Iranian territory in a new phase of its “Rising Lion” operation that was triggered this morning against the nuclear facilities and military leadership of the Islamic Republic.
Iran denounced the bombings as a crime of aggression against the country’s population.
Israel continues with the bombings on Iran
“The Israel Defense Forces continue to attack targets in Iranian territory,” announced the Israeli Army on its social media account X, in a message accompanied by images of bombings against unspecified targets.
Hours before the announcement, Iranian media reported attacks on the Nojeh air base in the province of Hamadan, in the northwest of the country, with no casualties reported so far.
According to NBC News, Israel has bombed 10 areas in Iran, in addition to the attacks on Tehran. One of the areas targeted was the largest uranium enrichment plant in Natanz.
The Israeli army also announced this Friday the start of numerous operations to activate reservists throughout the country “as part of defensive and offensive assessments in all sectors.”
“The Israel Defense Forces, on the occasion of the beginning of the ‘Lion Rising’ operation, have started to recruit reserve soldiers from various units for several combat sectors throughout the country,” the Army announced in a statement.
According to The New York Times, on Friday morning, the Israeli military reported that Iranian forces launched around 100 drones towards Israeli territory. In response, Israel activated its defense with combat aircraft and missile boats to neutralize the threat in mid-flight.
Israeli military authorities assured that a large part of the drones was successfully shot down, and up to that moment no significant damage was reported in the country as a result of the attack.
The Iranian military leadership falls
The Israeli attacks were aimed at Iran’s nuclear capability, as well as high-ranking military officials in the country.
So far, Iran has confirmed the deaths of Mohammad Bagheri, Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces and the second-highest-ranking commander after the Supreme Leader, as well as the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, General Hosein Salami. Ali Shamkhani, a politician overseeing nuclear negotiations with the United States, also died, as reported by The New York Times, citing Iranian government sources.