The balance of air power in the Middle East tilted violently tonight as Israeli and US warplanes surged over Iran, executing their largest coordinated air operation of the war while NATO forces intercepted a missile streaking toward Turkish airspace.

Residents across western and central Iran reported a constant roar of jets overhead as F‑35s, F‑15s, F‑16s and US stealth bombers struck air‑defense batteries, radar sites and IRGC airbases. Explosions lit the horizons over Tehran, Kermanshah and Isfahan, with Iranian state TV forced to broadcast from backup studios after power flickered in parts of the capital.

Pentagon and IDF officials say the joint mission aimed to “seize and hold air superiority” by destroying Iranian fighter shelters, command bunkers and long‑range SAM systems. “Iran’s air force is now largely grounded, and its radar picture is shredded,” one senior Western officer claimed, calling the skies “a contested space turning decisively in our favor.”

As the air armada pounded Iran, NATO headquarters confirmed that an allied air‑defense unit in southeastern Europe shot down a ballistic missile on a trajectory toward Turkey. Initial analysis suggests the projectile was launched from western Iran in a desperate bid to signal that Tehran can still threaten a NATO member despite losing control of its own airspace.

Ankara has demanded answers and convened its security council, while Tehran vows “this is not the end of the battle, only the beginning.” With Western jets now flying almost at will over Iran and NATO openly firing on an Iranian missile, diplomats warn the conflict is crossing into uncharted, potentially irreversible territory.