JERUSALEM, March 1 (Xinhua) -- Israel's military said on Sunday it had completed a large-scale wave of airstrikes targeting central command centers in Tehran, deploying more than 100 fighter jets in an operation it described as aimed at dismantling key elements of Iran's military infrastructure.
In a press briefing, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Effie Defrin said the strikes hit multiple Iranian headquarters, including facilities linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), intelligence divisions, Air Force command centers, and internal security units. He said the sites, which Israel said had coordinated attacks against Israel and other countries over several decades, were "destroyed."
Defrin added that the military had also carried out more than 30 strikes against Iran's ballistic missile sites and air defense systems.
The strikes followed a previous U.S.-Israel joint operation on Saturday, which reportedly resulted in the death of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Iranian authorities also said a missile strike hit a girls' elementary school in Minab, in southern Iran, killing at least 153 people and injuring dozens more, most of them schoolgirls, according to local prosecutors and state media reports.
"The message to Iran is clear: we can reach any target," Defrin said, adding that hundreds of Israeli aircraft remained active in Iranian airspace to locate missile launchers and other targets. He said approximately 60 launch sites, each capable of firing multiple missiles, had been struck so far. ■
