Israel strikes Tehran and other iranian cities: overnight explosions, civilian casualties reported.

Overnight between thursday and friday, Israeli warplanes launched a series of airstrikes targeting locations in Tehran and other Iranian cities.

According to reports from local broadcasters, several explosions occurred in residential areas, damaging numerous buildings. Eyewitnesses reported civilian casualties, including women and children.

In anticipation of a potential escalation, the United States had already begun evacuating non-essential personnel from its embassies across the region. U.S. intelligence sources had previously indicated that Israel intended to target Iranian nuclear facilities. However, Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that the strikes were “a unilateral initiative” by Israel and that Washington “had no direct involvement” in the operation.

Targets included key strategic facilities such as the Natanz nuclear site in Isfahan province and installations in Bushehr. According to Iranian sources, the head of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Major General Hossein Salami, was killed during the raids—a major blow to the country’s military leadership.

The strikes also claimed the lives of several other high-ranking military and civilian officials, including two prominent nuclear scientists: Mohammad-Mehdi Tehranchi, president of Islamic Azad University, and Fereydoun Abbasi, former head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization.

Among the dead was also General Gholamali Rashid, commander of the Khatam al-Anbia headquarters, one of the most critical centers of Iran’s national defense infrastructure.

Photo: VladoZg / Pixabay.com