Israel’s military said on Friday that its 50 air force fighter jets “dismantled” an underground bunker that was supposed to serve as a command center for slain leader Ali Khamenei.
“50 Israeli Air Force fighter jets dismantled Ali Khamenei’s underground military bunker under the leadership of the Iranian regime in Tehran,” the Israel Defense Forces said on X.
(The Mint could not independently verify whether it was destroyed on February 28, when Israel-US launched the strikes, or later)
Khamenei was killed in his command compound on Saturday, the first day of joint strikes by the United States and Israel that sparked the Middle East war. The Pentagon later said Israel carried out the strike that killed him, while Donald Trump said US intelligence also played a role.
Meanwhile, the airstrikes on Tehran on Friday morning came after warnings from Israel and the United States that they would step up the offensive launched on Saturday.
Eyal Zamir, the chief of Israel’s defense forces, said Thursday that Israeli forces killed about 40 senior Iranian regime officials in about 40 seconds, including Ali Khamenei, during the opening strike.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also mentioned that “firepower over Iran and over Tehran will increase dramatically,” according to AFP.
Trump said deploying ground troops in Iran would be a “waste of time” at the moment, but added that he would “have to be involved” in deciding who will lead the country next.
According to Iran’s Ministry of Health, the US and Israeli strikes killed 926 people.
Since the beginning of the conflict, Iran has launched missile and drone attacks on Israel and the Persian Gulf region. At least 10 people died in Israel, according to first responders. The US military said six of its members were killed.
Israeli airstrikes in Beirut
Israel carried out heavy airstrikes overnight and on Friday in Beirut’s southern suburbs, damaging roads and infrastructure as its conflict with Iran-backed Hezbollah intensified and forced tens of thousands of Lebanese residents to flee their homes, Reuters reported.
Before the attacks began, Israel ordered residents of the densely populated suburbs, considered a Hezbollah stronghold, to evacuate the area. It also earlier urged civilians to leave large parts of southern and eastern Lebanon and extended the warning beyond areas near the border.
The evacuation orders were the most extensive yet issued by Israel against Lebanon, prompting a mass exodus of residents ahead of the bombing, which reduced several buildings to rubble and tore down the facades of high-rise buildings.
Hezbollah announced Friday morning that it was facing an Israeli ground advance in southern Lebanon. The group said it targeted a concentration of Israeli military vehicles near the town of Khiyam and warned residents living in Israeli communities near the border to evacuate.
Lebanon joined the Middle East conflict on Monday after Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel. The action launched a new Israeli military offensive against the Shiite Muslim group, which is Iran’s strongest regional ally, some 15 months after their 2024 war.
