Latest news with #aerialsuperiority
Fox News
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Israel says it has aerial superiority over Tehran, Iranian intelligence leader killed
The Israeli military claimed to have obtained "aerial superiority" over Tehran on Monday, as airstrikes launched by the Jewish state killed four senior Iranian intelligence officials. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it has degraded Iranian air defenses and missile systems to the point that Israeli planes can now operate over Tehran without facing major threats. It said Israel now controls the skies from western Iran to Tehran. According to the Israeli military, "precise intelligence" from the IDF allowed Israeli Air Force (IAF) fighter jets to strike a structure in Tehran where several senior officials from Iranian intelligence were located. The strike eliminated Head of the Intelligence Organization Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Mohammad Kazemi, his deputy Mohammad Hassan Mohaqiq, Head of the Quds Force Intelligence Directorate Mohsen Bakri, and his deputy Abu al-Fadl Nikouei, the IDF said Monday. "These officials played a central role in shaping Iran's strategic assessments and planning terrorist attacks against Israel, the West, and countries in the Middle East," the IDF said. Kazemi, who has held the position since 2022, "was responsible for counterintelligence, espionage, and targeting opponents of the Iranian regime within Iran," according to the IDF. "In his role, Kazemi oversaw intelligence gathering for terrorist activities and the monitoring of Iranian citizens to suppress dissent and preserve the Iranian regime." The Israeli military said Hassan Mohaqiq "previously chaired the Strategic Intelligence Department and played a key role in the regime's terrorist operations against Israel, the West, and countries in the Middle East." Bakri and al-Fadl Nikouei "were primarily responsible for operational and intelligence support to members of the Iran's Axis of Terror, including Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis, and militias in Iraq," and they both "played a significant role in Iran's efforts to reestablish its presence in Syria and supported Hezbollah's military buildup in Lebanon," the IDF said. Monday's announcement "marks a significant blow to the Iranian regime's intelligence apparatus and its ability to carry out terrorist attacks against the State of Israel," the IDF said. This comes after the IDF said its strikes killed the Head of the Intelligence Directorate in the Iranian Armed Forces General Staff last Friday. The IDF has destroyed one-third of the Iranian regime's missile launchers since first launching its large-scale preemptive strike last Thursday, IDF spokesperson, Brigadier General Effie Defrin, said Monday. The IAF destroyed more than 20 surface-to-surface missiles Sunday night before they were about to be launched toward the State of Israel, Defrin said. Israel's air force completed several waves of strikes overnight, targeting approximately 100 military targets in Isfahan in central Iran. "In these strikes, more than 20 missiles were simultaneously struck, minutes before they were to be launched toward Israel's home front," Defrin said. "In one of the strikes, after a missile launch cell was identified in real-time attempting to launch surface-to-surface missiles toward the State of Israel, the IAF eliminated the launch cell and destroyed the missiles." Meanwhile, Iran fired a new wave of missile attacks on Israel early Monday, triggering air raid sirens across the country. Israeli emergency services reported at least eight killed and dozens more wounded in the fourth day of the conflict. Powerful explosions, likely from Israel's defense systems intercepting Iranian missiles, rocked Tel Aviv shortly before dawn, according to the Associated Press. Plumes of black smoke rose into the sky over the major coastal city. The latest salvo comes after a weekend of escalating tit-for-tat attacks between Israel and Iran that raised fears of a wider, more dangerous regional war.
BreakingNews.ie
10 hours ago
- Politics
- BreakingNews.ie
Israel's military claims ‘aerial superiority' over Iran's capital
Israel's military claimed on Monday to have achieved 'aerial superiority' over Iran's capital. The military says it has degraded Iranian air defences and missile systems to the point that its planes can now operate over Tehran without facing major threats. Advertisement It says Israel now controls the skies from western Iran to Tehran. It came after Iran fired a new wave of missile attacks on Israel early on Monday, triggering air raid sirens across the country as emergency services reported at least five killed and dozens more wounded in the fourth day of open warfare between the regional foes. One missile fell near the American consulate in Tel Aviv, and its fallout caused minor damage, US Ambassador Mike Huckabee said on X. There were no injuries to American personnel. The site where an Iranian missile struck in Haifa, Israel (Ariel Schalit/AP) Iran announced it had launched some 100 missiles and vowed further retaliation for Israel's sweeping attacks on its military and nuclear infrastructure, which have killed at least 224 people in the country since Friday. Advertisement Israel said so far 24 people have been killed and more than 500 injured as Iran launched more than 370 missiles and hundreds of drones. In response the Israeli military said fighter jets had struck 10 command centres in Tehran belonging to Iran's Quds Force, an elite arm of its Revolutionary Guard that conducts military and intelligence operations outside Iran. Powerful explosions, likely from Israel's defence systems intercepting Iranian missiles, rocked Tel Aviv shortly before dawn on Monday, sending plumes of black smoke into the sky over the coastal city. Authorities in the central Israeli city of Petah Tikva said that Iranian missiles had hit a residential building there, charring concrete walls, shattering windows and ripping the walls off multiple apartments. Advertisement The Israeli Magen David Adom emergency service reported that two women and two men — all in their 70s — and one other person were killed in the wave of missile attacks that struck four sites in central Israel. 'We clearly see that our civilians are being targeted,' said Israeli police spokesman Dean Elsdunne outside the bombed-out building in Petah Tikva. 'And this is just one scene. We have other sites like this near the coast, in the south.' Petah Tikva resident Yoram Suki rushed with his family to a shelter after hearing an air raid alert, and emerged after it was over to find his apartment destroyed. 'Thank God we were OK,' the 60-year-old said. Advertisement Despite losing his home, he urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to keep up the attacks on Iran. 'It's totally worth it,' he said. 'This is for the sake of our children and grandchildren.' In addition to those killed, the MDA said paramedics had evacuated another 87 wounded people to hospitals, including a 30-year-old woman in serious condition, while rescuers were still searching for residents trapped beneath the rubble of their homes. 'When we arrived at the scene of the rocket strike, we saw massive destruction,' said Dr Gal Rosen, a paramedic with MDA who said he had rescued a four-day-old baby as fires blazed from the building. Advertisement During an earlier barrage of Iranian missiles on central Israel on Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that Iran will stop its strikes if Israel does the same. People evacuate after a missile launched from Iran struck Tel Aviv on Monday (Baz Ratner/AP) But after a day of intensive Israeli aerial attacks that extended targets beyond military installations to hit oil refineries and government buildings, the Revolutionary Guard struck a hard line on Monday, vowing that further rounds of strikes would be 'more forceful, severe, precise and destructive than previous ones'. Health authorities also reported that 1,277 were wounded in Iran, without distinguishing between military officials and civilians. Rights groups, such as the Washington-based Iranian advocacy group called Human Rights Activists, have suggested that the Iranian government's death toll is a significant undercount. Human Rights Activists says it has documented more than 400 people killed, among them 197 civilians. Israel argues that its assault on Iran's top military leaders, uranium enrichment sites and nuclear scientists was necessary to stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. Iran has always insisted its nuclear programme is peaceful, and the US and others have assessed that Tehran has not pursued a nuclear weapon since 2003. But Iran has enriched ever-larger stockpiles of uranium to near weapons-grade levels in recent years and was believed to have the capacity to develop multiple weapons within months if it chose to do so.
CTV News
11 hours ago
- Politics
- CTV News
Iran renews missile attacks on Israel, killing 5 and wounding dozens
TEL AVIV, Israel — Israel's military claimed Monday to have achieved 'aerial superiority' over Iran's capital. The military says it has degraded Iranian air defenses and missile systems to the point that its planes can now operate over Tehran without facing major threats. It says Israel now says it controls the skies from western Iran to Tehran. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP's earlier story follows below. Iran fired a new wave of missile attacks on Israel early Monday, triggering air raid sirens across the country as emergency services reported at least five killed and dozens more wounded in the fourth day of a conflict between the regional foes that showed no sign of slowing. One missile fell near the American consulate in Tel Aviv, causing minor damage, U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee said on X. There were no injuries to American personnel. Iran announced it had launched some 100 missiles and vowed further retaliation for Israel's sweeping attacks on its military and nuclear infrastructure, which have killed at least 224 people in the country since last Friday. Ahead of the initial attack, Israel's Mossad spy agency positioned explosive drones and precision weapons inside Iran, and since then Iran has reportedly detained several people on suspicion of espionage. On Monday, authorities hanged a medical doctor identified as Esmail Fekri, who had been in prison since 2023 after being convicted of supplying the Mossad with 'sensitive and classified' information, Iranian state-run television reported. Israel said so far 24 people have been killed and more than 500 injured as Iran launched more than 370 missiles and hundreds of drones. In response the Israeli military said fighter jets had struck 10 command centers in Tehran belonging to Iran's Quds Force, an elite arm of its Revolutionary Guard that conducts military and intelligence operations outside Iran. Explosions rock Tel Aviv and Petah Tikva Powerful explosions, likely from Israel's defense systems intercepting Iranian missiles, rocked Tel Aviv shortly before dawn on Monday, sending plumes of black smoke into the sky over the coastal city. Authorities in the central Israeli city of Petah Tikva said that Iranian missiles had hit a residential building there, charring concrete walls, shattering windows and ripping the walls off multiple apartments. The Israeli Magen David Adom emergency service reported that two women and two men — all in their 70s — and one other person were killed in the wave of missile attacks that struck four sites in central Israel. 'We clearly see that our civilians are being targeted,' said Israeli police spokesman Dean Elsdunne outside the bombed-out building in Petah Tikva. 'And this is just one scene. We have other sites like this near the coast, in the south.' Petah Tikva resident Yoram Suki rushed with his family to a shelter after hearing an air raid alert, and emerged after it was over to find his apartment destroyed. 'Thank God we were OK,' the 60-year-old said. Despite losing his home, he urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to keep up the attacks on Iran. 'It's totally worth it,' he said. 'This is for the sake of our children and grandchildren.' In addition to those killed, the MDA said paramedics had evacuated another 87 wounded people to hospitals, including a 30-year-old woman in serious condition, while rescuers were still searching for residents trapped beneath the rubble of their homes. 'When we arrived at the scene of the rocket strike, we saw massive destruction,' said Dr. Gal Rosen, a paramedic with MDA who said he had rescued a 4-day-old baby as fires blazed from the building. No sign of conflict letting up During an earlier barrage of Iranian missiles on central Israel on Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that Iran will stop its strikes if Israel does the same. But after a day of intensive Israeli aerial attacks that extended targets beyond military installations to hit oil refineries and government buildings, the Revolutionary Guard struck a hard line on Monday, vowing that further rounds of strikes would be 'more forceful, severe, precise and destructive than previous ones.' Health authorities also reported that 1,277 were wounded in Iran, without distinguishing between military officials and civilians. Rights groups, like the Washington-based Iranian advocacy group called Human Rights Activists, have suggested that the Iranian government's death toll is a significant undercount. Human Rights Activists says it has documented more than 400 people killed, among them 197 civilians. Israel argues that its assault on Iran's top military leaders, uranium enrichment sites and nuclear scientists was necessary to stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. Iran has always insisted its nuclear program is peaceful, and the U.S. and others have assessed that Tehran has not pursued a nuclear weapon since 2003. But Iran has enriched ever-larger stockpiles of uranium to near weapons-grade levels in recent years and was believed to have the capacity to develop multiple weapons within months if it chose to do so. ___ Tia Goldenberg in Tel Aviv and Isaac Scharf and Julia Frankel in Jerusalem, Israel, Isabel DeBre in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and David Rising in Bangkok contributed to this report. Ami Bentov, The Associated Press
