Israel says it struck over 80 sites in Tehran, targeting nuclear research facilities

Jerusalem: Israeli Air Force aircraft struck more than 80 sites across the Iranian capital, Tehran, over the past day, the Israeli military’s spokesman, Effie Defrin, said on Sunday, as Israel continued airstrikes across the Islamic Republic for a third consecutive day.

The wave of attacks began at 22:45 on Saturday and continued through Sunday morning. “The aircraft operated via the aerial corridor we paved to the centre of Iran,” Defrin said in a briefing to reporters, adding that Israeli forces also struck Houthi sites in Yemen, Xinhua reported.

“We are not stopping our attacks for even a moment,” he said.

The targets included the SPND (Organisation of Defensive Innovation and Research), a facility in Tehran believed by Israeli and Western intelligence to be involved in nuclear weapons-related research.

The Air Force also targeted facilities for centrifuge production used in uranium enrichment, a research and development centre for chemical materials that Israel claims was used to produce raw materials for nuclear weapons, and other laboratories that, according to the military, contained “unique components and projects contributing to the development of nuclear weapons.”

Defrin confirmed that the Air Force also struck fuel depots near Tehran, Xinhua said.

Since the initial attack early Friday, more than 250 sites have been struck. “Even at this hour, we are continuing to strike dozens more targets in Tehran,” Defrin said. “We are deepening the damage to the nuclear program and to military capabilities in order to disrupt and reduce the threat to the Israeli home front.”

Since Saturday night, approximately 60 surface-to-surface missiles and dozens of unmanned aerial vehicles were launched by Iran, Defrin said, adding that the strikes killed 10 civilians. A missile launched by Houthi forces in Yemen was intercepted by Israeli aerial defence systems.

The Iranian missile barrages were in retaliation for an Israeli surprise attack early Friday that struck nuclear facilities across Iran. Several nuclear scientists and senior military officials were killed.

According to Iranian figures, at least 78 people were killed on Friday, with dozens more killed on Saturday. It said the fatalities include at least 29 children.

IANS