Intense airstrikes hit Tehran and other Iranian cities on the seventh day of the US-Israeli war, amid warnings from United States Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that the bombing would “escalate dramatically”.
Israel’s military said it had launched new “large-scale strikes” on Tehran on Friday morning, while the US said its B-2 bombers had dropped dozens of “penetrator” bombs on ballistic missile launchers buried deep inside the country.
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News reports and an Al Jazeera team on the ground said massive explosions hit several locations in the Iranian capital Tehran overnight, including residential areas and areas around Tehran University.
An Iranian military academy was also hit while a journalist from Iran’s state broadcaster was reporting live near the site.
Reporting from Tehran, Al Jazeera’s Tohid Asadi said the bombing in the capital was more intense than previously seen, with many attacks in the east and southeast of Tehran.
“Since early today and into the early hours of the morning, we have witnessed a continuous wave of massive strikes,” he said, adding that the shock waves of the explosion could be felt in the Al Jazeera bureau.
“Compared to previous days, we saw heavy bombardment overnight, at least in the capital,” he said, adding that huge explosions in the sky and a huge column of thick smoke rising from fighter jets and airstrikes.
Targets included military locations but also civilian sites, including residential buildings, parking lots and gas stations, he said.
Burial Missile Launch Bomb: US
Explosions were reported around the Iranian city of Kermanshah, an area with multiple missile bases, and in the cities of Shiraz and Isfahan.
The Israeli military said the strikes had already destroyed most of Iran’s air defenses and missile launchers.
Earlier Friday, USB-2 stealth bombers dropped dozens of 2,000 lb “penetrator” bombs on ballistic missile launchers buried deep inside Iran, US Central Command (CENTCOM) chief Admiral Brad Cooper said.
“We’ve also hit the equivalent of Iran’s space command, which will cripple their ability to threaten Americans,” Cooper said.
Speaking with Cooper, Hegseth explained the coming escalation in bombing.
“It’s more fighter squadrons, it’s more capabilities, it’s more defensive capabilities,” Hegseth said. “And it’s more often more bomber pulses.”
US ‘Possible Responsibility’ for School Attack: Report
At least 1,230 people have been killed in attacks on Iran since Saturday, Iranian state media reported. At least 181 children were among the dead, UNICEF said on Friday.
According to the IRGC, at least 175 children were among the young victims when a girls’ school in Minab, southern Iran, was struck on the first day of US and Israeli attacks on Iran.
Amid scrutiny over the incident, Hegseth acknowledged on Wednesday that the US military was investigating it.
Reuters news agency, citing two US officials, reported that US military investigators believed US forces were responsible for the apparent strike, but had not yet reached a final conclusion.
Deliberately attacking a school would be a war crime, and if the US role is confirmed, the strike would rank among the worst cases of civilian casualties in decades of US wars in the Middle East.
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