Israel’s massive airstrikes: 80 fighter jets drop 230 bombs on Iranian military sites
Tehran: The Israeli military launched a massive wave of aerial bombardments across Iran overnight, deploying more than 80 fighter jets to strike critical military infrastructure in what officials described as a major escalation of regional hostilities.
According to a statement from the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) on Saturday, the operation involved the release of approximately 230 precision-guided munitions. The strikes targeted several high-value military installations, including an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) military university, specialised storage facilities for launch infrastructure, and a sophisticated underground complex used for the manufacturing and storage of ballistic missiles.
The raids triggered massive explosions in several provinces, with residents in the capital, Tehran, reporting thunderous blasts that illuminated the night sky. While the Israeli military did not specify the exact geographical coordinates of the underground sites, it characterised the targets as "nodes of the Iranian terror regime" used for assembly and offensive operations against Israel.
Iranian state media confirmed that air defence systems were activated in multiple regions to intercept "foreign projectiles." The strikes come amid the 2026 Iran War, which began following the collapse of diplomatic negotiations regarding Tehran's nuclear program and a subsequent joint US-Israeli campaign designated "Operation Epic Fury."
Security analysts noted that the scale of the overnight attack, utilising a significant portion of Israel’s advanced F-35I and F-16 fleet, aims to systematically degrade Iran’s ability to launch retaliatory long-range missile barrages. The IDF reported that air superiority had been established over central Iran, allowing for deeper penetrations into the regime's military heartland.
As the conflict enters its second week, international observers have warned of a widening regional war. The Iranian government has vowed to respond to the "violation of its sovereignty," while US forces in the Gulf remain on high alert following debris-related incidents in neighbouring countries like the United Arab Emirates.