Heavy airstrikes hit Tehran and several cities in Iran on the seventh day of the war between the United States and Israel. U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth warned that the bombardment would “explode.”
Israel’s military said it had launched a new “widespread attack” against Tehran on Friday morning, while the United States said B-2 bombers had dropped dozens of “penetrating bombs” on ballistic missile launchers buried deep inside Tehran.
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Massive explosions occurred overnight in several locations in the Iranian capital Tehran, including residential areas and near Tehran University, according to news reports and a local Al Jazeera team.
An Iranian military academy was also attacked, and an Iranian state television reporter was reporting live from near the scene.
Al Jazeera’s Tohid Assadi, reporting from Tehran, said shelling of the capital was more intense than before and there were many airstrikes east and southeast of Tehran.
“We witnessed a large-scale strike that continued from the early hours of today until the morning,” he said, adding, “The shock waves of the explosion could be felt even in Al Jazeera.”
“I can tell you that there was more heavy shelling during the night than there used to be,” he said. At least in the capital, massive explosions, warplanes flew into the sky, and air strikes sent plumes of thick smoke rising.
He said the targets reportedly included not only military facilities but also civilian facilities such as residential buildings, parking lots, and gas stations.
Buried missile launchers bombed: USA
Explosions were also reported in the city of Kermanshah, Shiraz, and Isfahan, where several Iranian missile bases are located.
The Israeli military said that most of Iran’s air defenses and missile launchers had already been destroyed in this airstrike.
Earlier Friday, U.S. B-2 stealth bombers dropped dozens of 2,000-pound “penetrating” bombs on ballistic missile launchers buried deep inside Iran, Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), said.
“We also launched a commensurate attack on Iran’s Space Command, degrading Iran’s ability to threaten Americans,” Cooper said.
Hegseth, along with Cooper, described the coming surge in bombings.
“We need more fighter squadrons, more capabilities, more defensive capabilities,” Hegseth said. “And bomber pulses occur more frequently.”
US likely responsible for school attacks: report
Iranian state media reported that at least 1,230 people have been killed in airstrikes in Iran since last Saturday. UNICEF said Friday that at least 181 children have died in Iran.
According to the IRGC, on the first day of US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran, a girls’ school in Minab, southern Iran, was attacked, killing at least 175 children, among them young victims.
As the investigation into the incident continues, Hegseth acknowledged Wednesday that the U.S. military is investigating the incident.
Reuters, citing two U.S. officials, reported that U.S. military investigators believe U.S. forces may be responsible for the attack but have not yet reached a final conclusion.
Deliberately attacking a school would be a war crime, and if America’s role was confirmed, it would be one of the worst examples of civilian casualties in America’s decades of war in the Middle East.
