Reports of fresh strikes in Iran’s capital, Tehran and near the northwestern city of Tabriz surfaced Saturday, as images also emerged from Lebanon following Israeli strikes.
Iranian media reported that air defenses were activated in Tehran. At the same time, the emergency management authority in Iran’s East Azerbaijan province said two industrial facilities west of Tabriz and military sites inside the city were attacked.
Earlier, footage released by the Israel Defense Forces showed Hezbollah terrorists loading rockets into a weapons storage facility in the al-Majdal area of southern Lebanon. According to the IDF, Israeli Air Force aircraft struck the site within minutes, killing the terrorists.
Hezbollah terrorists loading rockets into weapons depot targeted in airstrike
(Video: IDF)
Separately, Lebanese network Al-Mayadeen, which is affiliated with Hezbollah, reported Israeli strikes in the Bourj Hammoud area of Beirut. Additional reports from Lebanon said a strike also targeted the city of Sidon.
A report in The Wall Street Journal said U.S. President Donald Trump told advisers before the launch of the military operation against Iran that Tehran would likely capitulate before attempting to close the Strait of Hormuz.
According to the report, Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, warned Trump in several briefings that Iran could respond to a U.S. attack by attempting to shut the strategic waterway connecting the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. Roughly 20% of the world’s crude oil passes through the strait.
The Journal said Trump acknowledged the risk but proceeded with what the report described as the most consequential foreign policy decision of his two presidencies, telling aides Iran would probably back down before closing the strait and that the U.S. military could reopen it if necessary.
Meanwhile, researchers from the University of Oregon who analyzed strike data from the first 11 days of fighting between Israel, the United States and Iran reported extensive structural damage in Tehran and Shiraz.
According to their analysis, more than 40 buildings were damaged in the strategic port city of Bandar Abbas.
Following an Israeli strike two days ago on the Iranian Space Research Center (ISRC), residents in Tehran living near the site reported finding documents belonging to the institute scattered in the area.
Tal Inbar, a senior research fellow at the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance, said the center is responsible for several Iranian space activities, including satellite development, space propulsion, and testing of space components.