Tehran’s night sky turned into a blazing war zone as Israeli jets and U.S. cruise missiles hammered what officials describe as the “beating heart” of Iran’s military machine. Residents reported deafening blasts, rolling fireballs and power blackouts across key districts as air‑raid sirens wailed with little warning.

Pentagon and IDF sources say the joint operation targeted IRGC command bunkers, missile depots and drone hubs around the capital, aiming to shatter Iran’s ability to threaten shipping lanes and regional allies. Satellite imagery leaked to Western media shows scorched compounds and collapsed hangars, with secondary explosions raging for nearly an hour.

Iranian state TV, broadcasting from dimly lit studios, denounced the strikes as “a direct assault on the sovereignty and soul of the Islamic Republic,” while downplaying damage and vowing “swift, layered revenge.” Crowds gathered outside IRGC bases, chanting for retaliation as air‑defense batteries fired sporadically into the night.

Regional analysts warn the real test now is Tehran’s next move. Intelligence reports point to an IRGC “revenge package” already on standby: swarms of drones, ballistic salvos, and proxy rocket fire from Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen. One miscalculated volley, they say, could tip this exchange from calibrated punishment to a full‑scale regional inferno.

As smoke still curls over Tehran and war rooms in Washington and Tel Aviv stay lit till dawn, the question gripping the world is stark: has the West finally broken Iran’s military backbone—or merely provoked an IRGC blitz that will set the entire Middle East ablaze?