 "IDF unleashed 50 fighter jets on Tehran to strike 'centrifuge production site'")
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) on Wednesday (June 18) said its fighter jets targeted a key uranium enrichment facility and multiple missile manufacturing sites in Tehran in overnight strikes.
The IDF said the strikes were meant to disrupt Iran’s “nuclear weapons programme”.
“As part of the broader effort to damage Iran’s nuclear weapons program, a centrifuge production facility in Tehran was targeted. The facility was designed to help the regime expand the scope and speed of its uranium enrichment for nuclear weapons development,” the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said Wednesday.
“It’s important to emphasise that civilian nuclear programs do not require enrichment at such levels,” said the statement.
IDF targets
The IDF said additional targets included manufacturing sites for systems and components used in surface-to-air missiles designed to target aircraft.
The Israeli military said it had gathered the intelligence about the location of these sites over the course of several years.
Earlier on Tuesday evening, there were reports of loud explosions in Tehran as anti-aircraft rockets lit up the skies. As per reports, about 50 Israeli fighter jets carried out the operation.
Meanwhile, residents earlier began fleeing Tehran in large numbers after Israel asked people living in the capital city to evacuate sites located in proximity to military and alleged nuclear sites.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz meanwhile said “a tornado storm is passing through Tehran”.
“Symbols of government are being bombed and collapsing - the broadcasting authority and soon additional targets, and masses of residents are fleeing,” the minister said. “This is how dictatorships collapse,” the minister stressed.
Impact Shorts
View AllIran vows to respond
Meanwhile, Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva issued a warning on Wednesday, saying Iran will “respond strongly”.
Speaking at a conference, Ali Bahreini reiterated that Iranian nuclear programme was “peaceful and for civilian purposes”.
Will US take part?
The US has relocated dozens of Air Force planes to European bases in recent days amid rising tensions in the West Asian region, reveals flight tracking data.
This military repositioning, along with the movement of warships, aims to protect Israel from Iranian attacks, as President Donald Trump urges Tehran to de-escalate.
Trump is reportedly contemplating US intervention, though he faces notable resistance from US lawmakers.
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