Israel hits deep in Iran, kills intel commanders
Dozens of targets hit Sunday, including energy sites, radar systems, missile launchers; plane hit in Mashhad.
(THE TIMES OF ISRAEL) Israel on Sunday attacked dozens of sites in Iran – including energy infrastructure, radar systems, ballistic missiles and their launchers – and killed Iran’s top intelligence officers on the third day of its campaign against the Islamic Republic’s nuclear and missile programs.
The Israel Defence Forces also struck an Iranian refuelling plane at Mashhad Airport in northeastern Iran, some 2,300 kilometres from Israel – marking what it described as its most distant strike since the beginning of the operation.
Early Monday morning, the IDF said it targeted surface-to-surface missile launch sites in central Iran. The announcement came shortly after the IDF Home Front Command urged Israelis to remain near shelters ahead of an anticipated missile barrage that ultimately did not eventuate.
Israeli media speculated that the Air Force had been acting to pre-empt such an attack.
IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, in a video statement Sunday evening, described the strikes as a “historic and unprecedented operation aimed at significantly damaging the existential threat that Iran has built for years to destroy us.”
“We are continuing to operate according to a structured, thorough, professional and evolving plan,” he said. “In the past 24 hours, we completed opening an air corridor to Tehran. Air Force pilots are flying with great risk, hundreds of kilometres from Israeli territory, striking hundreds of diverse targets with precision. At the same time, we are locating and destroying missile launchers firing at our territory.”
In an earlier statement, Zamir said the Air Force was striking Iran’s “infrastructure and nuclear program in a precise and extensive manner, beyond what the enemy anticipated.”
Widespread airstrikes were reported in the Iranian capital on Sunday afternoon, with footage circulating on social media. Local reports also described major sewage and water pipe explosions across Tehran, allegedly linked to Israeli strikes – though the IDF declined to comment.
Strikes were also reported against Iranian military sites in Shiraz, while the IDF said the Air Force had launched a separate wave targeting dozens of ballistic missile sites in western Iran.
On Sunday night, Iranian media reported Israeli strikes in Parchin, with Mehr News Agency sharing footage of air defence systems activating. In October, Israeli airstrikes reportedly destroyed an active nuclear weapons research facility in Parchin, following an earlier Iranian missile attack.
The strike on Mashhad Airport potentially marked the Israeli Air Force’s longest-range strike to date. For comparison, the 1985 IAF strike on the PLO headquarters in Tunisia was also over 2,000 kilometres away.
Footage from Mashhad showed a large fire at the airport following the strike.
“The Air Force is working to achieve air superiority throughout Iran,” the IDF said.
Top Iranian intelligence officials killed
Iranian state media confirmed on Sunday that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) intelligence chief, Brigadier General Mohammad Kazemi, and his deputy, Hassan Mohaqiq, were killed in an Israeli strike during the day — shortly after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed their deaths in an interview with Fox News.
A third IRGC intelligence officer, Mohsen Bagheri, was also reportedly killed in the same strike in Tehran.
Later Sunday night, the IDF said it had completed an “extensive” wave of airstrikes across Iran aimed at degrading Iran’s weapons manufacturing capacity.
Targets included infrastructure belonging to the IRGC, its Quds Force, and Iran’s armed forces. “Numerous weapons production sites across Iran were targeted,” the IDF said in a statement.
The military also released footage showing an airstrike on a surface-to-air missile launcher in Tehran, and said additional ballistic missile production sites and radar facilities were hit in the capital.
Iran’s semi-official Mehr News Agency reported that an Israeli strike damaged a building belonging to the Iranian Foreign Ministry in Tehran. Saeed Khatibzadeh, president of the ministry-affiliated Institute for Political and International Studies (IPIS), said the IPIS building was also damaged. He posted what he claimed was footage of the damaged library on X.
Israel did not comment on that report.
Iran’s IRNA news agency also reported five car bombs detonated in Tehran on Sunday, blaming Israel for the attacks. However, an Israeli official told the Kan public broadcaster that Israel was not responsible.
Casualties and ongoing conflict
Iranian state media claimed on Sunday that 224 people had been killed in Israeli strikes since Friday, with 90 per cent allegedly civilians.
Years of tension between Israel and Iran exploded into open conflict in the early hours of Friday morning when Israel launched a large-scale offensive against Iran, targeting nuclear facilities, missile bases, and senior military officials.
Israel said it was left with no choice but to act, citing intelligence that Iran was nearing “the point of no return” in its nuclear weapons program.
Military officials said the IDF was preparing for significant retaliation from Iran but stressed that “at the end of the operation, there will be no nuclear threat” from the Islamic Republic.
Lazar Berman, Stav Levaton and Reuters contributed to this report.
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