Tehran — Iran’s capital has been rocked by one of the most intense bombardments in its modern history, as waves of US–Israeli missiles slammed into military and government targets around Tehran while Iranian forces hurled their own barrages across the region, turning the Middle East skyline into a ring of fire.

Residents in northern and western Tehran reported deafening explosions through the night as precision munitions struck Revolutionary Guard bases, air‑defence sites and suspected command bunkers buried beneath residential districts. Fireballs lit up the Alborz foothills, windows shattered across the city and frantic traffic jams formed as families tried to flee districts now choked with smoke and sirens.

Iranian state TV called the attacks a “cowardly decapitation attempt,” even as it broadcast images of missile launches roaring out of central and western Iran toward Israel, US bases in Iraq and Gulf military hubs. In Tel Aviv, Haifa and southern Israel, air‑raid sirens wailed as interceptors clawed at incoming rockets and drones. In Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait, residents filmed distant flashes over restricted zones hosting American troops.

Washington and Jerusalem insist the strikes on Tehran are aimed at “the brain and claws” of Iran’s war machine, not its people, claiming early battle damage shows key IRGC facilities crippled. Tehran counters that the onslaught proves the West wants regime collapse, vowing that “every new hit on the capital will be repaid in missiles” across the region.

With both sides now raining fire on each other’s critical centers, diplomats fear the conflict has crossed from controlled confrontation into a dangerous freefall.