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Tag: Iran

  • U.S. bombs Iran’s nuclear sites; Trump warns against retaliation

    U.S. bombs Iran’s nuclear sites; Trump warns against retaliation

    U.S. President Donald Trump has disclosed that the United States has carried out “very successful attack” on three nuclear sites in Iran: Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports President Trump disclosed this via Truth Social while warning that “any retaliation by Iran against the United States of America will be met with force far greater than what was witnessed tonight”.

    Trump in posts on the social media platform on Saturday described the attack on the Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan nuclear sites as historic for the USA, Israel and the world, adding that Iran must now agree to end the war.

    “We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan.

    “All planes are now outside of Iran air space. A full payload of bombs was dropped on the primary site, Fordow. All planes are safely on their way home.

    “Congratulations to our great American warriors. There is not another military in the world that could have done this. Now is the time for peace,” Trump wrote.

    Sources said the United States Air Force used 6 Northrop B-2 Spirit stealth bombers to drop 12 bunker-buster bombs, that is 360,000 lbs, on the Fordow Nuclear Facility, obliterating the entire nuclear capability.

    TNG reports this is coming after hostilities broke out between Israel and Iran on June 13 when Israel launched airstrikes on several sites across Iran, including military and nuclear facilities, prompting Tehran to launch retaliatory strikes.

    The Israel versus Iran crisis has led to fatalities running into hundreds as Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Saturday warned that the U.S. participation in Israel’s ongoing attacks on Iran would be “very unfortunate” and “extremely dangerous for everyone.”

    Also, the United Nations’ Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had warned that the ongoing violent conflict between Iran and Israel is “a fire no one can control” and risks spiralling out of control.

    UN nuclear chief gives grave warnings on Iran’s nuclear safety

    Recall that the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had earlier released the most alarming update on the ongoing Israel’s attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

    IAEA Director General, Rafael Grossi, on Friday warned the UN Security Council that Israeli attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities were degrading critical safety systems and placing millions at potential radiological risk.

    Grossi said at Natanz, the destruction of electricity infrastructure and direct strikes on enrichment halls had led to internal contamination.

    Grossi said while no radiological release has been detected outside the facility, warned that uranium compounds now posed significant health hazards within.

    At Isfahan, the UN nuclear watchdog boss said multiple buildings including a uranium conversion plant and a metal processing facility, were hit.

    At Arak’s Khondab reactor site, he said that damage was sustained, though the facility was not operational.

    The greatest risk, however, he said, is the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, which remains operational.

    Grossi warned that a direct strike “could result in a high release of radioactivity to the environment.”

    He stressed that even a disruption of its external power supply could lead to a core meltdown.

    In the worst-case scenario, radiation would affect populations hundreds of kilometres away and require mass evacuations, he warned.

    Grossi also warned against any attack on the Tehran Nuclear Research Reactor, which could endanger millions in the capital.

    “Nuclear facilities and material must not be shrouded by the fog of war,” he said. We must maintain communication, transparency and restraint,” the IAEA chief stressed.

    Grossi pledged that the IAEA would continue to monitor and report on nuclear safety conditions in Iran and reiterated his readiness to mediate.

    He stressed that the agency “can guarantee, through a watertight inspections system,” that nuclear weapons will not be developed in Iran, urging dialogue.

    “The alternative is a protracted conflict and a looming nuclear threat that would erode the global non-proliferation regime,” he stressed.

  • Minister denies FG abandoned Nigerians in Iran

    Minister denies FG abandoned Nigerians in Iran

    The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Yusuf Tuggar, has dismissed as false the reports circulating on social media claiming that Nigerian nationals have been abandoned in Iran.

    Tuggar clarified the situation in a statement issued on Saturday in Abuja by the ministry’s spokesperson, Mr Kimiebi Ebienfa.

    According to the statement, the ministry’s attention was drawn to what it described as misleading and unfounded reports. The reports suggested that the Nigerian Embassy in Tehran had ceased operations and abandoned citizens due to the ongoing tensions between Iran and Israel.

    “The Embassy of Nigeria in Tehran remains operational and fully committed to the welfare and safety of all Nigerian nationals in Iran,” Tuggar affirmed.

    He explained, however, that due to ongoing security concerns and consistent bombings in Tehran, normal work schedules had been disrupted, with embassy staff currently working remotely.

    “In response to these developments, the Embassy is actively engaging with the Government of Armenia to secure access for the evacuation of Nigerians via Yerevan,” the minister stated.

    Tuggar urged Nigerians in Iran requiring assistance to contact the Embassy through the following emergency numbers and emails: Mr Esson Anzaku: +989393216872, Mr Abutalib: +989024199018, +989393216872, Emails: nigeria.tehran@mfa.gov.ng, anzakuesson02@gmail.com, lawshed@yahoo.com.

    He also advised Nigerians to stay in contact with the designated community coordinators in the three previously arranged locations and to download the Iranian local messaging app Eitaa and join the Nigerian group for real-time updates.

    “The ministry remains vigilant in monitoring the situation and will continue to take all necessary measures to safeguard the interests of Nigerians worldwide,” the statement added.

  • Iran warns U.S. against involvement in Israeli strikes, urges return to diplomacy

    Iran warns U.S. against involvement in Israeli strikes, urges return to diplomacy

    Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Saturday warned that the U.S. participation in Israel’s ongoing attacks on Iran would be “very unfortunate” and “extremely dangerous for everyone.”

    Araghchi was speaking to reporters in Istanbul ahead of the 51st Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Istanbul.

    He said: “Diplomacy worked in the past, it can work again. But to return to it, aggression must stop.”

    He emphasised Iran’s readiness for peaceful negotiations.

    “We are absolutely ready for a negotiated solution, just like in 2015,” the minister said.

    He accused Israel of opposing diplomatic efforts, saying: “Israel is clearly against diplomacy.”

    Araghchi reiterated that halting hostilities was a prerequisite for any diplomatic progress.

    Hostilities broke out on June 13 when Israel launched airstrikes on several sites across Iran, including military and nuclear facilities, prompting Tehran to launch retaliatory strikes.

    Israeli authorities said at least 25 people have been killed and hundreds injured in Israel since then in Iranian missile attacks.

    Meanwhile, in Iran, 430 people have been killed and more than 3,500 wounded in the Israeli assault, according to the Iranian Health Ministry.

  • Israel vs Iran: UN raises alarm of widespread catastrophe

    Israel vs Iran: UN raises alarm of widespread catastrophe

    UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned that the ongoing violent conflict between Iran and Israel is “a fire no one can control” and risks spiralling out of control.

    Guterres also warned that the world stood on the edge of catastrophe as Israel’s military campaign inside Iran intensified and strikes on nuclear facilities threatened to trigger a catastrophe.

    The regional fallout is expanding, with missiles from Yemen’s Houthi forces targeting Israel and occupied Palestinian territory, while armed groups in Iraq are reportedly mobilising.

    In an address to the UN Security Council on Friday, Guterres made an urgent plea for de-escalation, calling the spiralling confrontation a defining moment for the future of global security.

    “We are not drifting toward crisis, we are racing toward it,” he said adding ,“This is a moment that could shape the fate of nations”.

    “The expansion of this conflict could ignite a fire no one can control,” he stressed, warning of widespread panic and destruction.

    The Secretary-General’s remarks came amid a mounting civilian toll in both Israel and Iran, and as several nuclear sites in Iran have come under direct military assault.

    Over 100 targets have reportedly been struck across Iran, including military and nuclear infrastructure such as the Natanz and Isfahan nuclear facilities and the Khondab heavy water reactor.

    Iranian officials reported over 224 civilian deaths, with some estimates twice as high and more than 2,500 have been reportedly injured.

    Major cities like Tehran have seen mass displacements, fuel shortages and widespread panic.

    Iran has responded with its own barrage of missile strikes on Israel, hitting cities such as Tel Aviv, Haifa and Beersheba.

    Critical civilian sites, including the Soroka Medical Center and the Weizmann research institute, have been damaged.

    No fewer than 24 Israelis were confirmed dead, with more than 900 injured.

    Guterres urged both parties to give diplomacy a chance.

    He reiterated the need for full Iranian cooperation with the UN nuclear energy watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

    UN nuclear chief gives grave warnings on Iran’s nuclear safety

    Meanwhile, IAEA on Friday, gave the most alarming update on the ongoing Israel’s attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

    IAEA Director General, Rafael Grossi, warned the UN Security Council that Israeli attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities were degrading critical safety systems and placing millions at potential radiological risk.

    Grossi said at Natanz, the destruction of electricity infrastructure and direct strikes on enrichment halls had led to internal contamination.

    Grossi said while no radiological release has been detected outside the facility, warned that uranium compounds now posed significant health hazards within.

    At Isfahan, the UN nuclear watchdog boss said multiple buildings including a uranium conversion plant and a metal processing facility, were hit.

    At Arak’s Khondab reactor site, he said that damage was sustained, though the facility was not operational.

    The greatest risk, however, he said, is the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, which remains operational.

    Grossi warned that a direct strike “could result in a high release of radioactivity to the environment.”

    He stressed that even a disruption of its external power supply could lead to a core meltdown.

    In the worst-case scenario, radiation would affect populations hundreds of kilometres away and require mass evacuations, he warned.

    Grossi also warned against any attack on the Tehran Nuclear Research Reactor, which could endanger millions in the capital.

    “Nuclear facilities and material must not be shrouded by the fog of war,” he said. We must maintain communication, transparency and restraint,” the IAEA chief stressed.

    Grossi pledged that the IAEA would continue to monitor and report on nuclear safety conditions in Iran and reiterated his readiness to mediate.

    He stressed that the agency “can guarantee, through a watertight inspections system,” that nuclear weapons will not be developed in Iran, urging dialogue.

    “The alternative is a protracted conflict and a looming nuclear threat that would erode the global non-proliferation regime,” he stressed.

  • Over 650 die in Iran after first week of Israeli strikes

    Over 650 die in Iran after first week of Israeli strikes

    More than 650 people have been killed in Iran following a massive Israeli bombing campaign launched a week ago, an activist group said on Friday.

    The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reported that 657 people have died and 2,037 have been injured in the nationwide airstrikes.

    The Iranian government does not publish daily figures on casualties. HRANA relies on a broad network of informants and publicly available sources.

    The group said the dead include at least 263 civilians and 164 members of the military. Another 230 fatalities remain unidentified.

    The network also reported damage to civilian infrastructure, including a projectile striking a children’s hospital in Tehran, which did not result in any injuries.

    In the western province of Ilam, a fire station was damaged, HRANA said, while an Israeli attack on a car factory in western Iran triggered a large fire.

    Israel maintains its objective is to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, which it considers an existential threat.

  • Just in: Iranian missile strike sparks fire near Microsoft office

    Just in: Iranian missile strike sparks fire near Microsoft office

    Fires broke out in the southern Israeli city of Beer Sheva on Friday after an Iranian missile landed near a technology park that houses a Microsoft office, emergency officials confirmed.

    The missile strike caused widespread panic and triggered emergency response efforts. Magen David Adom (MDA), Israel’s national emergencyg service, said its teams were searching buildings for possible casualties.

    A video released by MDA showed flames and smoke rising from a street in the city, CNN reports.

    The Soroka Medical Center, which has over 1,000 beds and serves nearly one million residents, was previously damaged in an attack by Iran.

    A hospital spokesperson stated, “We are currently assessing the damage, including injuries. We ask the public not to come to the hospital at this time.”

    MDA reported that at least 40 people were wounded in the incident.

    Israel Police confirmed that munitions fell in open areas of the Southern District, noting that while there was property damage, there were no immediate reports of fatalities.

    Beer Sheva, located in the Negev desert, is also near the Nevatim airbase, a strategic Israeli military site.

    The missile strike came as part of escalating hostilities between Israel and Iran, which have been exchanging missile fire since Israel launched a ballistic attack on Iran on 12 June.

    Israel’s military said it intercepted the incoming missile, though fragments still caused damage on the ground. Meanwhile, hospitals across Israel have begun implementing emergency procedures, moving patients underground and converting parking areas into makeshift wards to cope with further possible attacks.

  • Not the Iran we thought it was: What has changed in the Persian Gulf?- By Azu Ishiekwene

    Not the Iran we thought it was: What has changed in the Persian Gulf?- By Azu Ishiekwene

    On paper, it looked like a mismatch. Iran is not only one of the oldest and most established places in the Persian Gulf but also at least 75 times the size of Israel, with a population nine to ten times larger. Size for size, it’s a modern-day David and Goliath match-up, with ancient history squarely on Iran’s side.

    At the height of its reign, especially under Cyrus the Great (545-525 BC), the Persian Empire, modern-day Iran, extended as far as Egypt, and its military might was unassailable. In more contemporary times, Iran defended itself against the aggression of Saddam Hussein during the eight-year Iran-Iraq War.

    Sudden tide

    Yet, since June 12, when Israel struck Iran’s nuclear site and killed at least 14 atomic scientists and 16 top military officers, Iran’s response has been something of a damp squib. A leaked intelligence report by the White House suggests that, but for President Donald Trump’s intervention, Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, might have been killed in the recent Israeli strike.

    In response, a barrage of Iranian missiles was fired on Tel Aviv and Haifa, with civilian casualties. This has been perhaps the most significant dent on Israel’s defence system in the last five decades. However, the response has been far below the notion of Iran as a nation of warriors and the potential nemesis of its precocious neighbour, especially after the fall of Syria’s Hafez al-Assad.

    Things got so bad for Tehran that, at one point, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu even claimed that Israel was “in full control of the Iranian skies,” a claim that Tehran could not deny.

    What happened?

    How did mighty Iran lose its military footing so calamitously, so quickly? The weakening of Iran’s military strength is not as sudden as it appears.

    It is the result of years of isolation and economic sanctions, driven mainly by three suspicions: One, that the Shia variety of Islam (and its allied franchises) subscribed to by Iran’s ruling elite is the mainstay of radical and extremist terror groups; two, that it is the main sponsor of at least two radical Islamic groups and arch-enemies of Israel – Hamas (in the Gaza) and Hezbollah (in Lebanon); and three, that its nuclear enrichment programme is not for peace, but for war.

    All three points are interlinked, and by 2015, the lack of progress on the third one was the beginning of economic sanctions by the US, Britain and France, amongst others, targeting and undermining Iran’s receipts from oil sales and weakening its economy.

    But Iran remained a major military force despite the sanctions. It cultivated closer ties with China and Russia, made desperate attempts to diversify its economy and used fronts to sell its oil.

    Burden of history

    All this time, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu wanted to strike. He pressured the US to tighten the screw on Tehran and maybe back a pre-emptive Israeli strike, but his repeated claim that Iran was only “months, years, or even weeks” from the final stages of getting the bomb, fell on a sceptical, if not indifferent, Democratic White House.

    After the debacle in Iraq, where the US lost over 900 troops and spent over $2 trillion based on faulty intelligence that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, no Democratic president, whether Barack Obama or Joe Biden, had the appetite for another full-scale war in the Persian Gulf without a convincing reason.

    Then, two things changed that changed the dynamics of power and politics in the Persian Gulf. Hamas, long regarded as Iran’s proxy, attacked Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 Israelis and abducting 250. This act of terror not only transformed moderate elements in Israeli politics, but it also further hardened extremists like Netanyahu, who vowed to crush Hamas and Hezbollah and make Iran pay a heavy price.

    Trump factor

    When Donald Trump was elected president, one year after the Israeli-Hamas war broke out, the US president’s brand of tweet-and-deal-making diplomacy, not to mention his close ties with Netanyahu, meant that Iran was on very thin ice. The stalemate in negotiations between Iran and the nuclear inspectors, including the expulsion of the veteran IAEA officials, further raised suspicions about Iran’s claims that its nuclear programme was for peaceful purposes.

    Yet some argued that Tehran’s reluctance to cooperate and its rigmarole were merely bargaining chips to ease sanctions and repair its moribund economy, that it was still a long way from the bomb.

    Even though the Wall Street Journal reported recently that US intelligence still doubts Netanyahu’s claims of a smoking gun over Iran’s nuclear enrichment, Tehran appears to have exhausted its card, and the days of the old regime may be numbered.

    Pre-emptive or not?

    With President Trump mulling direct US involvement in the war, I asked a source in the Israeli Foreign Ministry on Monday if this was a pre-emptive strike, a move that the Nigerian government had condemned in a statement during the week.

    “It is not a pre-emptive strike,” the source replied. “It is a targeted military operation to remove a concrete threat after the pre-established period of negotiations has elapsed. The objectives have been set: the nuclear programme and the ballistic capabilities.”

    What has changed

    Here is how Israel systematically weakened and significantly degraded Iran’s military capacity, especially in the last two years, forcing the mullahs in Tehran to shelter behind the veil in what may prove to be a decisive new phase in the war in one of the world’s most troubled regions.

    One, Iran’s regional allies – Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Bashar Hafez al-Assad in Syria – have either been neutralised, rooted out or forced to flee. The pager attack by Israel on Hezbollah members and affiliates in Lebanon and Syria last September was particularly devastating. At least 13 members of the group were killed, while Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon was injured, revealing a major breach in Hezbollah’s security, causing panic in high places in Iran.

    Although the Houthis have occasionally threatened security in the region, they have also been significantly contained or dispersed, making Iran even more isolated and vulnerable.

    Two, apart from the losses in the ranks of its proxies, Israel has also carried out precise strikes on Iran’s military leadership, assassinating ranking members of Iran’s military, including the Chief of the General Staff of Iran’s Armed Forces, General Mohammad Hossein Bagheri, who is only a heartbeat from the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The country’s air defence system has been degraded, and even though it has managed to fire hundreds of missiles toward Israel, their potency and impact have been largely limited.

    Three, the economic sanctions have limited Tehran’s ability to modernise its military, while support from its main ally, Russia, has been curtailed by Russia’s ongoing war with Ukraine, leaving Tehran largely on its own.

    Unlikely mediators

    It’s an irony that, in its moment of travail, Iran is now looking to Qatar and Egypt, two countries that it has long despised, for mediation with Israel and the US. Netanyahu still has to answer for the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, and hopefully, that should keep him on a tight leash in his next conquest.

    After centuries of military, cultural and geopolitical conquests, is the sun finally about to set on the “Gunpowder Empire?” Or is there still one magic spell left under the mullahs’ turban?

     

    Ishiekwene, Editor-In-Chief of LEADERSHIP, is the author of the new book Writing for Media and Monetising It. 

  • Iran cut off from global telecoms

    Iran cut off from global telecoms

    London-based NetBlocks organisation that monitors cybersecurity said Iranians are largely cut off from global communications after their internet went down.

    “Metrics show Iran has now been offline for over 12 hours as authorities impose a nation-scale internet shutdown, citing Israel’s alleged ‘misuse’ of the network for military purposes,”

    The non-profit organisation posted on X early on Thursday.

    The measure continued to hinder residents’ access to information at a critical time, it added.

    On Wednesday, Netblocks posted that live network data showed Iran was now in the midst of a near-total national internet blackout.

    The blackout followed a series of earlier partial disruptions and came amid escalating tensions with Israel after days of back-and-forth missile strikes.

    Earlier on Wednesday, the Tehran-based Mehr News Agency quoted a statement from the Communications Ministry that the restrictions followed “misuse of the national communications networks by the hostile aggressor for military purposes, jeopardising the life and property of innocent people.”

    Meanwhile, the Israeli military reported that its air force was currently hitting military targets in  Tehran.

    The reports came on the sixth day of strikes that began when Israeli jets hit Iranian military targets last Friday and amid continuing uncertainty over whether the United States will involve itself in military action to disrupt Iran’s nuclear arms programme.

  • FG finalises evacuation of Nigerians in Israel, Iran

    FG finalises evacuation of Nigerians in Israel, Iran

    The Federal Government has reiterated its commitment to the emergency evacuation of stranded Nigerians in Israel and Iran, as tensions escalate between the two countries.

    The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Yusuf Tuggar, disclosed this in a statement issued on Thursday in Abuja by the ministry’s spokesperson, Kimiebi Ebienfa.

    The statement comes in the wake of ongoing calls by the ministry for a cessation of hostilities in the conflict, now in its seventh day, as part of efforts to promote peace between both nations.

    Tuggar stated that, in response to the worsening crisis, the government was finalising arrangements for the emergency evacuation of Nigerians stranded in Israel and Iran.

    He urged all affected Nigerian citizens to adhere to necessary security protocols and to contact the nearest Nigerian foreign mission for registration and further instructions.

    The minister commended the efforts of Nigeria’s diplomatic missions in Tel Aviv and Tehran for their dedication and commitment in reaching out to the Nigerian community during the difficult period.

    “The government remains committed to the safety and welfare of all its citizens, both at home and abroad,” Tuggar said.

    He added that the government was working closely with relevant international partners and local authorities to ensure proper coordination for the timely and secure evacuation of Nigerians in affected areas.

    In the same vein, the government renewed its call for the immediate cessation of hostilities and urged all parties involved to embrace dialogue, respect international humanitarian law, and prioritise the protection of civilians.

    Tuggar reaffirmed Nigeria’s strong support for peaceful conflict resolution and reiterated the country’s longstanding commitment to regional and global peace and stability.

  • Iran, allies warn against foreign military intervention

    Iran, allies warn against foreign military intervention

    As Israel and Iran exchanged fire for a sixth straight day on Wednesday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry warned that any direct military intervention by a third country could trigger an all-out regional war.

    Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told Al Jazeera that outside involvement would create a conflagration that “would engulf all the region.”

    On the possibility of talks with the United States, Baghaei said, “Diplomacy never ends.” However, he added that Tehran had lost all trust in Washington.

    Baghaei said Iran’s attacks remain focused solely on Israeli territory and expressed confidence that neighbouring countries would not allow the U.S. to use their land to launch strikes on Iran.

    Russia also warned the U.S. against entering the conflict.

    Moscow, a close ally of Tehran, has criticised Israel for pushing the region toward “nuclear catastrophe.”

    The UN’s nuclear watchdog said on Wednesday that Israel had struck two sites in Iran that manufacture parts for uranium enrichment centrifuges.

    The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) identified the facilities as the TESA Karaj workshop and the Tehran Research Centre. Both were under agency monitoring.

    “At the Tehran site, one building was hit where advanced centrifuge rotors were manufactured and tested. At Karaj, two buildings were destroyed where different centrifuge components were manufactured,” the IAEA wrote on X.

    Casualty figures mount as exchanges continue.

    The Human Rights Activists NewU.S.-based group of Iranian activists, reported that 585 people have been killed in Israeli attacks, including 239 civilians and 126 military personnel. More than 1,300 people have been injured.

    In Israel, authorities say 24 people have died and over 800 have been injured since the conflict began.

    More than 50 Israeli fighter jets took part in strikes around Tehran on Wednesday, hitting facilities linked to weapons and missile production.

    Iran has once again fired rockets at Israel, the Israeli army said on Wednesday evening.

    “Defence systems are operational to intercept the threat,” it said in a statement. Iran confirmed the attack.

    In several areas of the country, including the densely populated Tel Aviv metropolitan area, warning sirens wailed.

    People in the affected regions were instructed to temporarily remain in shelters. They have since been allowed to leave them.

    The Israeli broadcaster Kan reported that a rocket had reached Israeli territory and was shot down.

    The Magen David Adom rescue service stated that a vehicle in the centre of the country was hit by a rocket fragment. However, the driver was fully conscious.

    The last rocket attacks from Iran occurred during the previous night. Since then, the Islamic Republic has also attacked Israel with drones.

    At the same time, Israel continues to target sites in Iran. In the past 24 hours, the Israeli Air Force has conducted three waves of attacks, said army spokesman Effie Defrin in the evening. He said they targeted around 40 positions in Tehran.

    Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) have claimed that in their latest attack on Israel they fired one of the most advanced types of rockets from their arsenal, the Sejjil, with a range of at least 2,000 kilometres for the first time.

    Due to their solid fuel propulsion, the rockets are significantly quicker to deploy and harder to detect than liquid-fuelled systems. They can carry warheads weighing up to 1 metric ton.