Strikes on invisible targets: How Israel hits Tehran's underground arsenal
Photo: Israel begins second phase of war against Iran (Getty Images)
Israel is launching the second phase of its war against Iran, focusing airstrikes on underground facilities where Tehran stores its ballistic missiles, Reuters reports.
New phase of the operation
After a week of joint airstrikes with the United States, Israel has shifted to destroying targets located deep underground.
Sources familiar with the campaign say fighter jets are now striking bunkers containing ballistic missiles and related equipment.
Military command confirmed that overnight, the air force hit an underground infrastructure site used by the Iranian regime to store ballistic missiles.
Previously, the Israeli army had only reported destroying ground launchers.
The state of Iran's arsenal
Estimates of Iran’s missile stockpile vary, ranging from 2,500 to 6,000 units. Israeli and US officials have noted a decrease in launches from Tehran, attributing it to successful strikes on its infrastructure.
However, a former Israeli deputy national security adviser, Eran Lerman, stressed that, despite hopes for a quicker collapse of Iranian power, the system is still holding.
"But this has yet to happen, and as long as it doesn't, the system needs to be further and further degraded," he said.
Combined strikes
Israel’s air force is operating at such intensity that fighter jets often carry out double missions. Sources report that planes strike targets in Tehran or western Iran, and on the return route, hit Hezbollah positions in Lebanon.
What we know about the US-Israel war against Iran
The joint military operation by the United States and Israel against the Iranian regime has been ongoing for a week. Washington expects the active phase of the fighting to last at least several months. The allies aim to completely degrade Tehran's military capabilities.
At the same time, debates continue in the US over the conflict’s duration. Reports suggest that President Donald Trump is prepared to continue the military campaign against Iran forever, until strategic objectives are achieved. Legal experts are simultaneously analyzing whether legislative restrictions can prevent the President from waging a full-scale war without official approval from Congress.
Alongside the fighting, there have been reports of diplomatic efforts. Earlier, it was reported that representatives of the US and Iran could discuss the terms of a ceasefire, but Israel continues to escalate strikes, now targeting underground missile storage sites.
