ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The bombardment of security and military bases as well as government institutions in various areas of Iran by the United States and Israel is ongoing. On the sixth day of the attacks, several non-military locations were targeted, which are said to have been used by forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran, while the Iranian government says these are government sites, not military or security ones.
The Iranian Red Crescent says that within five days, US and Israeli forces have bombarded nearly 3,500 locations in Iran with missiles, drones, and aircraft.
On the sixth day, most of the attacks were on Tehran and its surroundings, and military forces were the main targets of the strikes. An official of the Islamic Republic of Iran also says they have prepared for a prolonged war.
Tehran
From around 6 pm on Thursday evening, once again the sound of several powerful explosions was heard in Tehran, and Iranian media say the air defense system was activated. A large fire broke out in eastern Tehran, and Iran’s official media say the fire was caused by an aerial bombardment.
On Thursday, offices and buildings belonging to the intelligence ministry in central Tehran were once again bombed.
Several sports complexes belonging to the Tehran municipality and a municipal building were also bombed. Tehran municipality announced that the Besat sports complex, Azadi stadium, Azadegan water park, the Ismaili sports complex, and Eskandarloo sports hall in Tehran were bombed.
According to some internal sources, a large number of police special forces and IRGC forces had been stationed in those sports facilities.
Police stations No. 138 (Janat Abad), Shahini Shomal, No. 169 (Moshiriyeh), No. 121 (Soleimani) and the Zanjan Street police station in Tehran were bombed.
An IRGC base in Parand-e Robat Karim, southwest of Tehran, was also bombed. The governor of Robat Karim announced that in Thursday’s attacks three people were killed and 56 others injured, and “most of the victims are civilians.” A police station in Andisheh, west of Tehran, was also bombed.
Other parts of Iran
On Thursday afternoon, a complex on the Zanjan–Qazvin road was targeted. Iranian media reported that 17 people were killed and 12 injured in the attack. After the bombardment, Qazvin road police announced that the main Qazvin–Zanjan road had been closed.
Around the city of Tabriz, IRGC bases were again bombed. After the bombardment, loud explosions and heavy smoke rose from the targeted area.
On Darai street in Maragheh, in East Azerbaijan province (Tabriz), an IRGC base was bombed. According to videos circulated, the targeted site was an IRGC intelligence and detention facility in Maragheh and it suffered heavy damage.
The head of veterinary services in East Azerbaijan province says a horse-breeding and holding facility on the Tabriz–Sufian road was targeted.
Also on Thursday, several military bases were bombed in the cities of Isfahan, Najafabad, Khomeinishahr, Aran and Bidgol, Kashan, Falavarjan, and Lenjan in Isfahan province.
In Hamadan province, six locations were targeted on Thursday night. Iranian media reported that in the city of Malayer, a paper factory, a truck garage, and a ceremony hall were targeted. It is said that one person was killed and three injured in the attacks.
Early Thursday morning, naval bases of the Artesh (Iranian army) in Bandar Abbas in southern Iran were bombed.
On Thursday morning in Bushehr, southern Iran, the command center of the army’s air force near the city was targeted by aircraft.
Once again, a military base near Kish Island airport was also targeted.
The border guard command of Khuzestan province also announced on Thursday that a border guard base in the province had been attacked and two of their forces were killed.
Statistics of the bombardments and casualties
The Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs of Iran has so far announced that 1,230 people have been killed as a result of the US and Israeli attacks.
According to statistics released Thursday afternoon by the Iranian Red Crescent, since the beginning of the war the US and Israel have attacked 174 Iranian cities using aircraft, missiles, and drones. It also says that 1,332 attacks at 636 points have been recorded.
Pirhossein Kolivand, head of the Iranian Red Crescent Society, says 3,646 civilian residential houses and buildings, as well as 528 commercial units, have been targeted.
“Iran ready for a prolonged war”
Politically, militarily, and economically, Iran is in a difficult situation. Therefore it is predicted that it may not be able to withstand this war for a long time, but Iranian officials say they have prepared for a “prolonged war.”
Ebrahim Rezaei, spokesperson for the Iranian parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, announced on Thursday that “we have prepared ourselves for a prolonged war,” and according to the experience they gained from last year’s 12-day war, they can better withstand the attacks. Rezaei says the United States and Israel cannot fight a prolonged war against Iran.