Tehran has been shaken by one of the fiercest nights of bombing in the war so far, as Israeli jets launched massive air attacks on targets around Mehrabad Airport, sending pillars of fire and smoke towering over Iran’s capital, local and regional sources say.

Residents in western Tehran reported a sudden roar of low‑flying aircraft just after 2:00 a.m., followed seconds later by a succession of heavy blasts. Phone videos show orange fireballs punching into the darkness near the airport perimeter, followed by shockwaves that rattled windows and set off car alarms across multiple districts.

Iranian state media acknowledges “enemy strikes” on what it calls “air‑force logistics and defensive positions” linked to Mehrabad, while insisting the main civilian terminals and runways suffered only “minor damage.” Unverified clips from the scene, however, show burning hangars, shattered office blocks and thick black smoke rising from a military apron inside the complex.

Emergency crews rushed into the area under the glow of still‑burning fuel and munitions. Hospitals in western and central Tehran report dozens of casualties, including air‑force personnel, airport workers and civilians in nearby neighbourhoods hit by glass, debris and collapsing walls. Authorities imposed rolling power cuts as they fought to contain secondary fires.

Israeli officials, speaking off the record, describe the raid as a “precision strike” on Revolutionary Guard aviation assets and drone infrastructure “hidden in plain sight” at a dual‑use civilian airport. Tehran condemns the attack as “terror bombardment of the capital” and vows that missile and drone fire on Israeli and US targets will intensify.

As dawn breaks over a scarred skyline and smouldering runways at Mehrabad, one question now grips Tehran and the wider region: was this a one‑night shock to send a message—or the opening move in a sustained Israeli campaign against the very heart of Iran’s airpower in its own capital?