Israeli strikes hit Tehran on Saturday as the conflict between Iran, Israel and the United States intensified, with explosions reported at the capital’s Mehrabad International Airport and other parts of the city.
Footage posted on social media showed strikes and large fires at Tehran’s Mehrabad International Airport, with eyewitnesses reporting burning planes on the tarmac after explosions rocked one of the Iranian capital’s main commercial airports.
Israel said it had launched “broad-scale” strikes on targets in Tehran, while Iranian state media reported an explosion in the western part of the city. “The IDF (Israel Defense Forces) has begun a broad-scale wave of strikes” on government targets in the Iranian capital, an Israeli military statement said.
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Witnesses described the Israeli airstrikes as particularly intense, saying the blasts shook homes and sent columns of smoke rising. Others reported explosions around the Iranian city of Kermanshah, an area home to several missile bases. The witnesses spoke anonymously for fear of retribution, as reported by AP.
The Israeli military earlier said it had detected another round of Iranian missile fire headed toward Israel.
A series of explosions was later heard in Tel Aviv following the launches.
Israel’s emergency services, the Magen David Adom, said it received no reports of casualties after the barrage. The military later issued a statement saying people were free to leave their shelters “in all areas of the country.”
As Israeli warplanes bombed Tehran and Beirut, Iran launched more retaliatory strikes against Israel and Gulf countries on the seventh day of the war. Many thunder-like booms were heard over Jerusalem shortly after midnight local time as Israel said it was working to intercept missiles launched from Iran.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a television interview that the “biggest bombing campaign” of the war was still to come.
The United States and Israel have carried out repeated strikes on Iran targeting its military capabilities, leadership and nuclear programme, as the goals and timelines of the war have continued to shift.
The latest developments come after tensions in West Asia escalated following a joint US-Israel military strike on February 28 on Iranian territory that killed its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, along with other senior figures.
In retaliation, Iran launched waves of drone and missile attacks across multiple Arab countries.
