The Israeli Air Force on Friday carried out a wave of strikes in Tehran overnight, targeting dozens of Iranian military facilities and a nuclear research site, the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) says. More than 60 fighter jets were involved in the strikes, dropping 120 munitions, according to the military, reports The Times of Israel.
The IDF says the targets included “several industrial missile production sites” in Tehran, which had served as “the industrial core of Iran’s Defense Ministry.” “Among the targets were military industrial sites producing missile components and facilities for manufacturing raw materials used in casting missile engines,” the IDF says. The strikes also hit the “headquarters of the SPND (Self Powered Neutron Detector) nuclear project,” the military says, a site that has been targeted already during the conflict.
Israel and Iran’s air war entered a second week on Friday (20 June) and European officials sought to draw Tehran back to the negotiating table after President Donald Trump said any decision on potential US involvement would be made within two weeks, according to the media reports. Israel began attacking Iran last Friday (13 June), saying it aimed to prevent its longtime enemy from developing nuclear weapons. Iran retaliated with missile and drone strikes on Israel. It says its nuclear programme is peaceful.
Meanwhile, Israeli air attacks have killed 639 people in Iran, the Human Rights Activists News Agency said. Those killed include the military’s top echelon and nuclear scientists. Israel has said at least two dozen Israeli civilians have died in Iranian missile attacks. Israeli authorities said at least 25 people have been killed and hundreds injured since then in Iranian missile attacks.