JERUSALEM (dpa-AFX) - As the war in the Middle East entered the fifth day, the Israel Defense Forces have announced that they have launched 'broad scale strikes targeting Iranian terror regime targets in Tehran.
Iranian state media and news agencies reported explosions in many parts of the country Wednesday morning.
Israel's military forces targeted dozens of Iranian military sites across Tehran Tuesday night, according to the IDF. The strikes focused on Basij headquarters, a paramilitary group linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guards, as well as missile launch pads, defense systems, and logistics facilities supporting Iran's ground forces.
With the three-day funeral ceremony for Iran's slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei due to start in Tehran Wednesday, Israel Defence Minister Israel Katz declared that that any successor that continues 'the plan to destroy Israel, to threaten the United States' and 'suppress the Iranian people' will be an 'an unequivocal target for elimination.'
According to The New York Times, Khamenei's son, Mojtaba Khamenei, is touted as his successor.
Meanwhile, the US military claimed it has struck nearly 2,000 targets in Iran since launching its joint military campaign with Israel Saturday.
Admiral Brad Cooper, the commander of US Central Command, said in a video statement that 17 Iranian ships were destroyed and the entire Iranian navy was sinking. Now, the focus was 'on shooting all the things that can shoot at us', he added.
According to the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, the civilian death toll in Iran since the outbreak of the conflict on Saturday has crossed 1000.
'The total number of reported civilian deaths stands at 1097, including 181 children under 18, with 880 reported deaths currently under review pending verification and classification. Reported civilian injuries since 28 February stand at 5402, including 100 children,' HRANA said on its website.
Copyright(c) 2026 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2026 AFX News
