TEL AVIV, June 20: The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) on Friday announced that it had carried out a series of overnight airstrikes in Tehran, targeting dozens of sites linked to Iran’s missile and nuclear weapons programs. The IDF confirmed that more than 60 Israeli Air Force fighter jets carried out the coordinated attacks, deploying approximately 120 precision-guided munitions on key Iranian targets.
According to an official statement posted by the IDF on X (formerly Twitter), the strikes focused on dozens of strategic sites associated with Iran’s missile production and nuclear weapons programs. Among the most high-profile targets was the headquarters of Iran’s Organisation of Defensive Innovation and Research (SPND), the secretive body responsible for advancing Tehran’s nuclear military capabilities.
“These sites were built over years and were the industrial center of gravity of the Iranian Ministry of Defense,” the IDF noted. The targeted locations included missile manufacturing facilities and production units for raw materials essential to rocket engine casting—components critical to Iran’s missile technology.
The SPND headquarters in Tehran, attacked during the raid, was founded in 2011 by the late Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, widely regarded as the architect of Iran’s nuclear weapons program. The IDF asserted that the building plays a key role in the research and development of advanced weaponry for the Iranian regime.
The Israeli military also disclosed that it struck a facility used to produce a specific component deemed vital to Iran’s nuclear weapons project. In parallel, Israeli air defense systems intercepted four unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) launched from Iranian territory, signaling a broadening conflict theatre.
As tensions surged into the eighth consecutive day of hostilities, the IDF reported that additional missiles were launched from Iran toward Israeli territory. Air raid sirens were activated across multiple regions in Israel, and the Home Front Command issued a stern alert to citizens.
“The defense systems are working to intercept the threat. You must enter protected areas upon receiving the alert, and remain there until further notice,” the IDF warned in its advisory, emphasizing that its air defenses are not “hermetic.”
The ongoing conflict began last Friday when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched “Operation Rising Lion,” a targeted military campaign aimed at neutralizing what he described as an imminent Iranian nuclear threat. Tehran responded swiftly, intensifying retaliatory attacks and raising fears of a wider regional war.
