Explosions rock Tel Aviv and Tehran as the conflict between Israel and Iran rages on for a sixth straight day.
Media reports say Israel has carried out strikes across Iran while Tehran has returned fire as the foes trade attacks for a sixth straight day and the region anxiously braces for a potentially wider and ruinous conflict.
Al Jazeera reports several explosions rocked areas across Iran, including its central and western provinces as well as the densely populated capital, Tehran, as Israel stepped up bombardment.
The Israeli military was cited as saying that it struck “12 missile launch and storage sites”.
According to Iranian state-run media IRNA, Isfahan province and Tabriz city were among those attacked by Israel, while attacks on Tehran were “continuous and intense”.
Al Jazeera reports that early on Wednesday, the Israeli military said new waves of missiles had been launched from Iran. Israeli media outlets reported that the latest salvos triggered sirens across the entire country, including the Tel Aviv area where explosions and fires were reported.
Meanwhile, TASS reported today that IRNA, citing a statement by the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), says Iran’s Air Force took full control of Israeli skies in its recent attack.
"Today’s attack made it clear that we have gained full control of the sky over the occupied territories (Israel – TASS), and that their residents are entirely defenseless against Iranian missile strikes," the IRGC stated.
The IRGC also called on the residents of Tel Aviv’s Neve Tzedek neighborhood to evacuate, the Mehr news agency reported.
Earlier, the Israeli military identified two missile launches from Iran.
IRNA yesterday cited Iran’s Defense Ministry as saying that it used a new, undetectable missile for the first time in a strike targeting an Israeli intelligence facility, noting that the attack successfully penetrated layered air defense systems supported by the United States.
Meanwhile, Iran-Israel conflict raises alarm in Pakistan amid fears over own security. According to Al Jazeera, Islamabad described the Israeli strikes as violations of Iran’s territorial sovereignty and labelled them “blatant provocations”.
Analysts are cited as saying that as Israeli attacks on Iran, and Tehran’s retaliatory strikes, enter their sixth day, the deepening conflict is sparking fears in Islamabad, rooted in its complex ties with Tehran and the even greater unease at the prospect of the Israeli military’s aerial influence extending close to the Pakistani border.
TASS cited Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying yesterday that the conflict between Israel and Iran is rapidly escalating with completely unpredictable results.
"The situation is alarming. Certainly, we saw and heard those remarks (US President Donald Trump’s call on Tehran residents to evacuate and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hints on the necessity to eliminate Iran’s spiritual leader – TASS)," the Kremlin official said. "So far, the situation is moving toward an even greater escalation, a rapid escalation. The level of unpredictability is absolute," he emphasized.
The human toll from the spiraling Israel-Iran conflict is growing. Israel’s attacks on Iran have already led to more than 220 deaths, with more than a thousand people injured. In retaliation, Iran has launched hundreds of missiles into Israeli territory, resulting in more than 20 deaths and extensive property damage.
