Israel has launched a new wave of coordinated airstrikes on military targets in and around Tehran, sharply escalating its direct confrontation with Iran and raising fears of an uncontrollable regional war, defence officials say.

Shortly after midnight, residents of the Iranian capital reported powerful explosions to the east and south of the city, as low‑flying jets and incoming missiles lit up the sky. Iranian state media acknowledged “enemy strikes” on an air‑defence battery near Tehran, a Revolutionary Guard command compound, and a suspected drone and missile research facility on the outskirts of the metropolis.

Israeli security sources, speaking on background, describe the operation as a “precision decapitation strike” aimed at command nodes that survived earlier US‑Israeli attacks. Satellite imagery circulating among analysts shows scorched compounds, collapsed hangars and multiple secondary blasts, suggesting ammunition and fuel depots were hit. Tehran insists most missiles were intercepted and damage is “limited.”

Air‑raid sirens and tracer fire were filmed across several Tehran districts as Iranian air defences scrambled to respond. Hospitals reported an influx of wounded military personnel and some civilian casualties from falling debris and shattered glass, though exact numbers remain unclear amid tight information controls.

In Jerusalem, officials frame the raid as a necessary response to Iran’s recent missile barrages on Israeli cities, vowing that “no launcher, no command bunker in Iran will remain immune.” But diplomats warn that with Israeli jets now openly striking targets near the Iranian capital, the conflict has crossed a psychological red line—one that could drag the entire Middle East into a far wider, far deadlier war.