Amid escalating hostilities, Israel has issued evacuation warnings to residents in certain parts of Tehran, signalling the potential for intensified airstrikes. The warning came in the wake of a fresh wave of Iranian missile attacks on Israel early Monday, which reportedly killed at least eight people. This marks a sharp escalation on the fourth day of the ongoing conflict between the two nations.
The Israeli military claimed it has now established air superiority over the Iranian capital, asserting that its fighter jets can operate in Tehran's airspace without facing significant resistance. This development has raised concerns of further military action in the region. Similar to previous strategies employed in Gaza and parts of Lebanon, the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) are issuing early warnings to civilians, asking them to vacate areas likely to be targeted.
"At this time, we can say that we have achieved full aerial superiority over Tehran’s skies," said military spokesperson Brig Gen Effie Defrin. The military said it had destroyed more than 120 surface-to-surface missile launchers in central Iran, a third of Iran's total.
It also said fighter jets had struck 10 command centres in Tehran belonging to Iran’s Quds Force, an elite arm of its Revolutionary Guard that conducts military and intelligence operations outside Iran. Israeli strikes "amount to a deep and comprehensive blow to the Iranian threat," Defrin said. Meanwhile, Iran announced it had launched some 100 missiles and vowed further retaliation for sweeping attacks on its military and nuclear infrastructure that have killed at least 224 people in the country since Friday.
UN rights chief decries 'horrifying' suffering in Gaza
Meanwhile, the UN human rights chief said Israel's warfare in Gaza is inflicting “horrifying, unconscionable suffering" on Palestinians and urged government leaders on Monday to exert pressure on Israel's government and the militant group Hamas to end it. Volker Turk made the comments at the opening of the latest Human Rights Council session on Monday, in a broad address that also raised concerns about escalating conflict between Iran and Israel, the fallout from US tariffs, and China's human rights record — alongside wars and conflict in places like Sudan and Ukraine.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, who has regularly spoken out about bloodshed in Gaza and called for the release of Israeli hostages held by armed Palestinian militants, used some of his most forceful words yet to highlight the Mideast violence.
Israel-Iran war
Israel and Iran opened a new chapter in their long history of conflict when Israel launched a major attack with strikes early Friday that set off explosions in the Iranian capital of Tehran. Israel said it targeted nuclear and military facilities. Iranian state media reported that the leader of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard and two top nuclear scientists were killed. Israel's attack comes as tensions have escalated over Iran's rapidly advancing nuclear programme, which Israel sees as a threat to its existence.
(With inputs from AP)
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