IDF says Tehran no longer immune as Israeli jets strike deep in Iran

Israel Defence Forces spokesperson Brig Gen Effie Defrin on Saturday claimed that the Israeli Air Force has achieved aerial freedom of action over Tehran, which is no longer immune.

Defrin said that over 70 Israeli Air Force fighter jets participated in the overnight operation in Tehran to achieve aerial freedom of action over the Iranian capital.

Israel attacked Iran's capital early Friday in strikes that targeted the country's nuclear programme and attacked its nuclear, missile and military complex. In retaliation, Iran launched retaliatory strikes on Israel with the conflict escalating further on Saturday.

Some 40 sites were targeted, including air defence systems and related assets, Defrin said.

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) spokesperson stressed that Israel Air Force jets and drones flew over Tehran for some two and a half hours during the operation and that dozens of aircraft continue to fly freely thanks to the opening blow that removed the threat of Iranian air defence systems.

It is the deepest area in Iran that the IAF has operated in so far, Defrin emphasised.

Tehran is no longer immune; the capital is exposed to Israeli strikes, he asserted.

After claiming great success following the opening airstrikes deep inside Iran on Friday morning, the IDF on Saturday said that it is executing a planned operation aimed at dismantling Iran's military and nuclear capabilities.

We are moving forward according to a plan that has been prepared for months, the Israeli army said.

We're dismantling threat after threat, step by step. We've applied lessons from ground combat in Gaza and coordination with Northern Command to operate effectively even in distant Iran, just as we did over Gaza and Lebanon, it added.

Also, the IDF noted that while the Air Force alone cannot neutralise all components of Iran's dispersed nuclear infrastructure, it is targeting missile production, key national infrastructure, regime leadership, and nuclear facilities.

This combination will delay the nuclear programme by years, it asserted.