Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
Israel’s strikes on Iran in the early hours of Friday have hit nuclear sites, military bases and weapons facilities across the country.
The co-ordinated assault, Operation Rising Lion, also hit high-security residential compounds home to some of Tehran’s top military generals, an attempt to take out the country’s senior command. The Israel Defense Forces said 100 sites had been targeted so far.
Verified social media footage, photos and official statements from Israel and Iran confirm some of the key locations that have been hit.
Tehran
In the capital, numerous residential buildings were ablaze after being hit by strikes. Verified photos and videos show that in some cases the damage appears confined to one floor. In others, entire buildings appear at risk of collapse.
The strikes assassinated a number of Iran’s top military leaders in the city, including Major General Mohammad Bagheri, chief of staff of the armed forces, Major General Hossein Salami, head of the elite Revolutionary Guards, and General Gholamali Rashid, commander of the Revolutionary Guards’ central headquarters.
Prominent nuclear scientists were also targeted. Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi, a physics professor, and Fereydoon Abbasi, a former head of Iran’s atomic organisation, were killed, Iran’s state news agency said.
Natanz
Videos show thick black smoke billowing out of a nuclear facility in the central city of Natanz. Much of the infrastructure of the plant, which is the country’s primary uranium enrichment site, is below ground. While Iran says its atomic programme is purely peaceful, Israel has long accused it of seeking to develop nuclear weapons.
On Friday morning, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN’s nuclear watchdog, confirmed that the facility in Natanz had been hit, but said Iranian authorities had informed them that there were “no elevated radiation levels”. The Iranian Atomic Energy Organizaton said there had been some radiation and chemical contamination underground.
The IDF said its fighter jets had damaged the underground area of the site containing “a multi-story enrichment hall with centrifuges, electrical rooms, and additional supporting infrastructure”.
Tabriz
Iran has numerous missile and air force facilities in the north-west of the country near the city of Tabriz, in East Azerbaijan province. Videos show multiple fires in nearby hills, with smoke streaming from military facilities.
The city also contains a nuclear research centre, which was reportedly targeted in the barrage.
Subashi radar facility
The Subashi radar base, in Hamadan province in western Iran, is one of the country’s most important air defence facilities. The site is used for detecting and tracking aircraft and helps Iran control its airspace in the region. Videos show smoke billowing from a building reportedly struck by the Israeli missiles.
Piranshahr military facility
Piranshahr Garrison, in West Azerbaijan Province, is situated near Iran’s border with Iraq. The site is part of Tehran’s broader military infrastructure. It is unclear what was targeted at the facility.
A video verified by the FT shows a series of explosions in rapid succession at the site, suggesting an ammunition or missile storage facility could have been hit. Other videos show the garrison on fire.
Kermanshah missile base
The strikes appear to have hit a large underground missile base in the mountains north of the city of Kermanshah. Photos and videos show multiple large fires across hills north of the highway running into the city.
There are several military installations below ground around the city that are a key component of Tehran’s ballistic missile defence system. According to Alma, an Israeli security research non-profit, the mountains are home to “dozens of missile bunkers”.
The IDF has also released footage of the strikes, including videos of the air force reportedly destroying ballistic missiles it said were aimed at Israel.
Read the full article here
