Early this morning, new explosions reverberated throughout Tehran after Israel unleashed a swift counterstrike following Iran’s barrage of missiles and drones against Israeli cities. The violence deepens an already volatile cycle between these two nations–now entering their second day of direct military exchange.
Explosions and Air Alarms in Tehran Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported explosions at Mehrabad Airport as well as residential neighborhoods like Hakimiyeh and Tehranpars, including Hakimiyeh and Tehranpars. Mehrabad hosts key military aviation units and flames lit up hangars used by Iran’s air force; both locations were directly hit. Cbsnews.com, The Guardian, and Apnews reported simultaneous detonations events as reported by Tasnim news agencies reported detonations events within hours of each other at Mehrabad airport as reported by their semi-official news agencies (Tasnim and Apnews respectively).
Residents reported air-raid sirens and plumes of smoke across eastern Tehran, while emergency teams raced to the scene amid concerns of structural damage. These explosions happened hours after Iran launched Operation True Promise III with over 150 ballistic missiles and 100 drones targeted towards Israel (wikipedia.org/en).
Israel’s Military Response
Israeli warplanes and drones responded by carrying out precision strikes targeting missile launch facilities, air defense installations and other military sites throughout Tehran and Iran’s central plateau. German national media confirmed that over 200 combat jets participated in this retaliatory campaign targeting Iran’s nuclear infrastructure including Natanz enrichment plant as well as sites in Esfahan; over 98% of targets hit were nuclear or military infrastructure; for more details see these sources (en.wikipedia.org; Wsj; Politico);
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz issued a warning that should the missile attacks continue, Tehran would “burn,” signaling possible sustained operations “for as long as necessary”, per Prime Minister Netanyahu (WashingtonPost.com, Politico.com and NewYorkPost all have reported this).
Casualties and Damage In Iran, at least 78 deaths and over 320 injuries from Israeli strikes last night were reported as casualties by Iranian officials – this included senior IRGC commanders as well as nine nuclear scientists (according to WsJ, Guardian and NY Post sources).
Casualty figures related to today’s explosions are still coming in; early assessments point to structural damage near both airport and residential zones.
Israel confirms four civilian deaths and scores of injuries caused by Iran’s missile attacks against central Israel, Tel Aviv and its suburbs after intercepting much of Iran’s barrage with U.S. assistance and using missile interceptors to track it with “regional and global repercussions”, according to The Guardian (https://theguardian.com). Regional and Global Fallout
Oil Markets and Shipping: Brent crude price increased more than 10% due to fears that conflict may spread to the Strait of Hormuz and cause disruption for air traffic across the region, leading to delays and reroutes for flights in and out.
Diplomatic Pressure: The United Nations and major powers, including Britain, France, Egypt, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Vatican have come out against de-escalating the Syrian civil war by issuing statements calling for its de-escalation (see:http://en.wikipedia.org/8/1/8/10_477598970591724 apnewscom com).
Strategic Alarm: These direct strikes have brought to an abrupt halt planned U.S.-Iran nuclear talks scheduled for Oman. Tehran’s foreign minister classified negotiations as being unjustifiable due to ongoing Israeli aggression (according to APNews.com and WashingtonPost.com, etc). What to Look Out For Instinctive Military Exchange?
Prime Minister Netanyahu’s commitment to continuing strikes for as long as necessary indicates ongoing hostilities with Iran unless it ceases firing missiles at Israel.
Iran has signaled its intention to use allies or proxies as weapons against Western assets if intervention takes place, prompting fears of proxy wars across Syria, Lebanon and Yemen.
Diplomatic Interventions
UN or regional mediators’ ability to facilitate de-escalation remains critical. Any success would depend on Iran ceasing missile launches while Israel stopped carrying out airstrikes in response.
Economic Repercussions
Disruptions to international shipping and air travel could cause ripple effects that stretch throughout global logistics networks.
Bottom Line
With expulsions rocking Tehran and missiles raining on Tel Aviv, Iran and Israel remain locked in a sustained and escalated conflict marked by direct military strikes and increasing casualties. Economic shockwaves ripple outwards worldwide while diplomatic unease rises; yet little relief appears forthcoming in the near-term future; either one side must yield to international pressure to end this violence or international efforts may force an agreement or ceasefire to emerge – both scenarios seem far off given the rising rhetoric and deaths on both sides.