Israel Strikes Iranian Airports, Prison and Nuclear Site

Tehran vows to continue enrichment

Israel launched a series of coordinated airstrikes on six airports across Iran on Monday, escalating the region’s spiraling conflict following U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities over the weekend. The Israeli military said the attacks damaged runways and underground bunkers and neutralized missile launch and storage sites aimed at Israeli territory.

According to the Israeli army, fighter jets carried out strikes near the western city of Kermanshah, targeting what it described as surface-to-surface missile sites. In total, six airports in western, eastern, and central Iran were hit in the early hours of Monday, the military said. Drone attacks also targeted 15 Iranian aircraft, including fighter jets and helicopters, the Israeli military added.

“The strikes damaged runways, underground apartments, a refueling plane, and F-14, F-5, and AH-1 aircraft belonging to the Iranian regime,” the army spokesperson said in a statement.

Another Israeli airstrike reportedly targeted Tehran’s infamous Evin Prison, with the opposition outlet Iran International claiming the strike hit the facility’s main gate, possibly to enable detainees to flee. Evin Prison is a sprawling, high-security complex known for incarcerating political dissidents, journalists, academics, and human rights defenders.

Moreover, Iranian media also reported Israeli strikes on the Fordow nuclear facility, following U.S. attacks on the same site early Sunday.

Later, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz detailed the targets of the wave of Israeli strikes in Tehran on Monday, saying that the military struck "with unprecedented force" regime targets and "governmental repression bodies" in the heart of Tehran, including the Basij headquarters, the Evin Prison for political prisoners and regime opponents, the ‘Destruction of Israel’ clock in Palestine Square, the internal security headquarters of the Revolutionary Guards, and the ideology headquarters.

In Israel, sirens wailed for over 30 minutes across several areas, as the military warned of multiple missile barrages launched from Iran.

According to initial assessments by the Israeli military, approximately 15 ballistic missiles were launched from Iran toward Israel in a series of successive waves.

The attack unfolded over a span of nearly 40 minutes, making it one of the lengthiest missile barrages carried out by Iran since the conflict began.

Amid the intensifying aerial campaign, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) confirmed that it intercepted an Israeli Hermes 900 drone over the western city of Khorramabad. Israel acknowledged the loss. The Israeli army also confirmed that Iran shot down another Hermes 900 drone using surface-to-air missiles over Isfahan last Wednesday, bringing the total number of Israeli drones lost in Iranian airspace since last Thursday to four. Two were brought down by Iran, while the remaining two were reportedly downed by mistake, one by U.S. forces and another by the Israeli military.

In response to the mounting pressure, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-e Ravanchi told German media that Tehran would continue enriching uranium.

"No one can tell us what to do as long as we act within the framework of our legal commitments," he said, according to the state-aligned Tasnim News Agency.

Iran’s top military leadership also warned of retaliation against both Israel and the United States, as the chief of staff of Iran’s Armed Forces, Maj. Gen. Abdolrahim Mousavi, said “criminal America” had “opened the doors to the warriors of Islam in the armed forces for any action against its interests and army, and we will never back down in this regard”.

Mousavi said the US had “directly entered the war by violating the sovereignty of Islamic Iran and encroaching on the sacred soil of our country.”

In a video message released Monday, Ebrahim Zolfaqari, spokesperson for Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya central military headquarters, said that the U.S. attack on nuclear facilities had expanded the range of "legitimate targets" for Iran’s armed forces.

“Mr. Trump, the gambler, you may start this war, but we will be the ones to end it,” he declared in English.

The warning followed a global travel advisory issued by the U.S. State Department, urging American citizens to exercise caution amid fears of Iranian reprisals for the recent strikes.

Iran’s newly appointed military chief, Major General Amir Hatami, echoed Zolfaqari’s comments, vowing a firm response.

“Every time Americans have committed crimes against Iran, they’ve received a decisive response. It will be the same this time,” he said, according to the Fars news agency.

As the war of words escalated, Iran and Israel continued trading missile and drone strikes. Tensions soared after the United States launched 75 precision-guided munitions, including bunker-busting bombs and Tomahawk missiles, against three Iranian nuclear sites on Saturday. U.S. Joint Chiefs Chairman General Dan Caine said the coordinated attack aimed to significantly degrade Iran’s nuclear capabilities.

U.S. President Donald Trump boasted of the damage on his Truth Social platform.

“Monumental Damage was done to all Nuclear sites in Iran,” he wrote, claiming the biggest destruction occurred “far below ground level. Bullseye!!!”

Trump has urged Tehran to avoid further retaliation, warning that any future attacks would be "far greater and a lot easier," raising concerns of an even wider conflict across the Middle East.

Commercial satellite imagery appeared to confirm extensive damage to the Fordow nuclear site, located deep underground, although the full extent remains unclear. Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), told CNN that no off-site radiation spikes had been reported, but added that it was too early to assess the underground impact.

Following the U.S. attack, Iran fired a barrage of missiles at Israel, injuring dozens and destroying buildings in Tel Aviv. However, Tehran has so far held back from attacking U.S. military bases in the region or attempting to block the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway through which 20% of the world’s oil flows.

Analysts say such a move could have catastrophic consequences for the global economy and risk a direct confrontation with the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet, stationed in Bahrain.