Iran claims missile attack targeting Israeli airport, bases

In a dramatic escalation of hostilities, Iran launched a massive missile and drone assault on Israel just hours after U.S. forces, in coordination with Israel, struck three of Iran’s key nuclear sites—Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan.

The tit-for-tat attacks mark a dangerous new phase in the widening Middle East conflict, with both sides trading blows at an unprecedented scale.

According to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the latest retaliatory strikes targeted Israel’s Ben Gurion International Airport, as well as research facilities, control centres, and military bases. Tasnim news agency reported the use of both long-range liquid and solid-fuel missiles. Israeli officials confirmed two rapid volleys—27 missiles in total—were fired within a span of 30 minutes, a first in the history of Iran’s ballistic operations.

Ten separate sites across northern and central Israel, including Tel Aviv, Haifa, the Golan Heights, and Galilee, suffered direct impacts or extensive damage from missile shrapnel. Israeli medical services reported at least 16 injuries as of early Sunday, with emergency teams still sweeping through debris for survivors.

The attack followed an earlier Iranian offensive—the 19th phase of Operation True Promise III—in which swarms of suicide and combat drones were launched from Iran toward strategic Israeli targets. Iranian military spokesperson Brigadier General Ali Mohammed Naeini warned, “This operation will be continuous and sustained… disrupting the enemy’s balance.” Israeli air raid sirens blared throughout the occupied territories, sending residents scrambling into underground shelters.

The Iranian assault came directly on the heels of U.S. President Donald Trump’s televised confirmation that the U.S. Air Force had bombed three Iranian nuclear facilities using B-2 stealth bombers and 30,000-pound bunker-busting bombs. Trump hailed the operation as a “spectacular military success,” declaring that Iran’s nuclear capabilities had been “completely and totally obliterated.”

The conflict began last Friday when Israel launched surprise strikes on Iranian cities, claiming intelligence showed Tehran was on the verge of developing a nuclear weapon. Since then, Iran and Israel have been locked in near-constant missile and drone exchanges, with fears of regional escalation now rapidly becoming reality.