Israel strikes missile site in western Iran, military says
Iranian missiles are displayed at the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force Museum in Tehran, Iran, Nov. 15, 2024. PHOTO: REUTERS
Listen to article
The Israeli military said it struck an underground facility Saturday in western Iran's Khorramabad that contained surface-to-surface and cruise missiles.
"This is an important site that was even featured in a propaganda video by the Iranian regime in the past," military spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin told journalists.
He was likely referring to footage aired by Iran's Revolutionary Guards earlier this year showing what it described as a new underground missile facility.
"It was struck and the senior officials associated with it have also been eliminated," Defrin said, adding that "dozens of other such sites have also been destroyed".
The military said the site contained "storage tunnels for surface-to-surface missiles and cruise missiles as well as multiple launch shafts".
Iranian media reported strikes on Lorestan province, where Khorramabad is located, on Saturday.
Earlier on Saturday Israel said its air strikes on Iran, which began in the early hours of Friday, have so far killed more than 20 Iranian army and Revolutionary Guards commanders, including armed forces chief Mohammad Bagheri.
The strikes have also killed nine nuclear scientists and experts, the military said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Express Tribune
10 minutes ago
- Express Tribune
Trump says Iran, Israel 'will make a deal', promises peace 'soon'
US President Donald Trump speaks during a swearing-in ceremony for the new US ambassador to China, former US Senator David Perdue, at the White House in Washington, DC, US on May 7, 2025. Photo: Reuters/ File Listen to article Iran and Israel will have peace "soon", US President Donald Trump said in a social media post on Sunday, adding that there were many unspecified meetings happening and that the two countries should make a deal. Israel and Iran launched fresh attacks on each other overnight into Sunday, killing scores. "Iran and Israel should make a deal, and will make a deal," Trump said on Truth Social, adding that "we will have PEACE, soon." Trump did not offer any details about the meetings or evidence of progress toward peace. His assertion contradicted comments by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said on Saturday that Israel's campaign against Iran would intensify. A White House spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on how Trump and the White House were working to de-escalate the situation in the Middle East. Read More: Tehran's Shahran oil depot hit in Israeli strike, says Iran Trump, who portrays himself as a peacemaker and has drawn criticism from his political base for not being able to prevent the Israel-Iran conflict, cited other disputes that he took responsibility for solving, including between India and Pakistan, and lamented not getting more praise for doing so. "I do a lot, and never get credit for anything, but that's OK, the people understand. Make the Middle East great again!" he wrote. Israel and Iran launched fresh attacks on each other overnight into Sunday, killing scores and raising fears of a wider conflict. Israeli rescue teams combed through rubble of residential buildings destroyed by Iranian missiles, using sniffer dogs and heavy excavators to look for survivors after at least 10 people, including children, were killed, raising the two-day toll to 13. Iran has not given a full death toll but said 78 people were killed on Friday and scores more have died since, including in a single attack that killed 60 on Saturday, half of them children, in a 14-storey apartment block flattened in Tehran. Also Read: Israel and Iran keep airspace closed amid military escalation; Jordan reopens skies Israel launched "Operation Rising Lion" with a surprise attack on Friday morning that wiped out the top echelon of Iran's military command and damaged its nuclear sites, and says the campaign will continue to escalate in coming days. Iran has vowed to "open the gates of hell" in retaliation. An official said Israel still had a long list of targets in Iran and declined to say how long the offensive would continue. Those attacked on Saturday evening included two "dual-use" fuel sites that supported military and nuclear operations, he said. President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran's responses will grow "more decisive and severe" if Israel's hostile actions continue. Israeli skies have been streaked with barrages of Iranian missiles and Israeli interceptor rockets. Some 22 of Iran's 270 ballistic missiles fired over the past two nights breached Israel's anti-missile shield, Israeli authorities say. With worries growing of a regional conflagration and oil prices having shot up, Trump has lauded Israel's offensive while denying Iranian allegations that the US has taken part in it. He warned Tehran not to widen its retaliation to include US targets. "If we are attacked in any way, shape or form by Iran, the full strength and might of the US Armed Forces will come down on you at levels never seen before," he said in a message on Truth Social. Trump has repeatedly said Iran could end the war by agreeing to tough restrictions on its nuclear programme, which Iran says is for peaceful purposes but Western countries say could be used to make a bomb. The latest round of nuclear negotiations between Iran and the United States, due to be held on Sunday, was scrapped after Tehran said it would not negotiate while under Israeli attack. Since Saturday, Israel has hit the oil depot in Tehran and facilities at Iran's huge South Fars gas field, the world's largest, which produces gas for domestic consumption. But so far Israel has spared targets associated with Iran's oil exports, while Tehran has yet to follow through on hinted threats to hinder shipping from the Gulf. Traders say oil buyers have loaded up on long-term contracts for protection in case of supply disruption, but uncertainty could drive wild price swings. Iran said the situation at the burning Shahran oil depot in the capital was under control. It told citizens to seek shelter in mosques, schools and subways. Israel's military said its aircraft hit 80 targets overnight including the headquarters of Iran's defence ministry and also its nuclear project. Iranian media showed pictures of rescue workers combing through damaged buildings with flashlights. Read More: Israel tells Iranians near military zones to evacuate At one time, Iran could have expected military support from proxy forces in Gaza, Lebanon and Iraq. However, 20 months of war against the Hamas militia in Gaza and last year's conflict with Lebanon's Hezbollah have decimated Tehran's strongest regional proxies, reducing its options for retaliation. The Israeli military official said Israel had targeted the chief of staff of Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis, who fired a missile towards Israel. Israel has said its operation could last weeks. Netanyahu has openly urged Iran's people to rise up against their Islamic clerical rulers.
Business Recorder
an hour ago
- Business Recorder
Netanyahu says Iran will pay ‘very heavy price' for Israeli civilian deaths
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Iran would pay 'a very heavy price' for killing Israeli civilians, as the two foes kept up intense fighting. 'Iran will pay a very heavy price for the premeditated murder of civilians, women and children,' Netanyahu said during a visit to the site of a missile strike on a residential building in the coastal city of Bat Yam, near Tel Aviv. Iran's missile attacks on Israel Saturday night and early Sunday killed 10 people and wounded more than 200, according to first responders, bringing the total number of fatalities from Iranian strikes to 13. Missiles that broke through Israel's air defence system also caused damage and destruction in several areas, including Bat Yam, Tel Aviv and in the country's north. Israel's military censorship forbade journalists from sharing footage or the exact locations of missile hits inside the country. Iran missiles kill 10 in Israel in night of mutual attacks 'Israel absolutely had to carry out this operation,' Netanyahu said in reference to the waves of strikes carried out across Iran on military and nuclear sites since Friday morning. The operation, dubbed 'Rising Lion', officially aims to keep Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, and has hit more than 250 targets, according to Israel's military. 'We will reach all our objectives and we will eliminate the double existential threat,' Netanyahu added, referring to Iran's nuclear programme and its ballistic missile capabilities.
Business Recorder
2 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Iran nuclear programme is a threat for Israel and Europe, says French Foreign Minister
PARIS: Tehran's nuclear programme is a threat for the security of Israel and of Europe and diplomacy is the only way to avoid an escalation in the conflict between Israel and Iran, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Sunday. 'The Iranian nuclear programme is an existentiel threat for the security of Israel and beyond the security of Europe. We always said the best way to prevent that threat, to contain it, remains diplomacy,' Barrot told RTL radio. Iran missiles kill 10 in Israel in night of mutual attacks Germany, France and Britain are ready to hold immediate talks with Iran over Tehran's nuclear programme in an effort to de-escalate the situation in the Middle East, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said earlier.
