The IRGC said the strikes were conducted in support of offensives by Hezbollah and residents of southern Lebanon, and described them as the beginning of a series of pre-announced operations against Israel.
Key Points
- Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched the 80th wave of 'Operation True Promise 4', targeting Israeli military sites and US bases.
- Israel Defence Forces struck Iranian missile production and explosives facilities in Tehran and Isfahan.
- Iran claimed strikes on multiple Israeli cities and regional US military installations using missiles and drones.
- Israel reported over 3,000 strikes on Iran and more than 5,000 hospitalisations since the conflict began.
- Donald Trump claimed talks are underway, but Iran mocked the claim, calling US power a 'strategic defeat'..
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it had carried out the 80th wave of its retaliatory 'Operation True Promise 4', targeting strategic and military sites in Israel, even as the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) reported strikes on key missile production facilities in Tehran, signalling a sharp escalation in the conflict.
In a statement on Wednesday, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said its Aerospace Force launched sustained missile and drone attacks on 'strategic points and military centres' in northern Israeli territories, including the military command hub in Safed responsible for coordinating operations along the northern border.
The IRGC said the strikes were conducted in support of offensives by Hezbollah and residents of southern Lebanon, and described them as the beginning of a series of pre-announced operations against Israel.
It added that Israeli assembly points and the Gaza belt would face continued heavy attacks, stressing that the campaign would persist until 'complete victory'.
The Iranian force also claimed to have struck central Israeli locations such as Tel Aviv, Kiryat Shmona and Bnei Brak, along with US military bases in the region, including Ali al-Salem and Arifjan in Kuwait, al-Azraq in Jordan, and Sheikh Isa in Bahrain, using precision missiles and attack drones.
2 missile production sites hit in Tehran
Meanwhile, Israel said its air force had targeted two naval cruise missile production facilities in Tehran.
"IAF fighter jets struck facilities used by the Iranian regime to develop long-range naval cruise missiles capable of hitting targets at sea and on land," the IDF said.
The IDF also reported strikes on Iran’s central explosives production facility in Isfahan, which had previously been targeted and was being restored, as well as dozens of additional sites including ballistic missile launch positions, weapons production facilities and air defence systems.
According to Israel, more than 3,000 strikes have been carried out across Iran since the start of 'Operation Roaring Lion'.
In recent days, the IDF said it hit IRGC command centres, weapons storage sites and aerial defence systems, along with over 50 additional targets including missile launch and storage facilities.
Israel's health ministry said 204 people were hospitalised in the past 24 hours, taking the total number of casualties treated since the conflict began on February 28 to over 5,000.
Of those admitted recently, one was in serious condition, nine in moderate condition and 184 in good condition, with 120 people currently hospitalised.
Trump says peace talks underway, Iran denies
Amid the escalation, US President Donald Trump claimed that negotiations with Iran were underway and that the war could soon end.
"We're in negotiations right now… We have won this… They are totally defeated… Militarily, they are dead," Trump said.
However, Iran has rejected such claims.
In a video released by Fars News Agency, an Iranian military spokesperson mocked the US position, saying Washington, DC was 'negotiating with itself' and that its 'strategic power' had turned into a 'strategic defeat'.
The spokesperson reiterated that Iran would not come to terms with the US or Israel and warned that regional stability would be dictated by Iranian military strength.
With both sides intensifying strikes and maintaining hardline positions, prospects for de-escalation in West Asia remain uncertain.
