Israeli-US Forces Strike Tehran Nuclear Sites as Iran Launches Drone Attacks

The West Asia conflict entered its 5th day as joint Israeli-US forces struck Tehran’s nuclear sites while Iran launched fresh drone attacks, with Israel saying its Air Force neutralized around 300 Iranian missile launchers since the start of the operation.

News On AIR said Israel used intelligence to strike Iran’s nuclear weapons development site in Tehran and continued successive waves of strikes against Iranian ballistic missile arrays and air defence systems.

Al Jazeera

The same report said Israel intensified airstrikes in Lebanon, hitting around 60 targets related to Hezbollah in the Tyre and Sidon areas.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi told reporters that the US has entered a war of choice on behalf of Israel and that there was never any so-called Iranian threat.

In parallel, the United Arab Emirates’ Ministry of Defence said its air defence systems intercepted 11 ballistic missiles and 123 drones yesterday, and that one missile landed within the country’s territory without causing any human casualties.

The Wire.in said the United States and Iran agreed on a framework for a 60-day ceasefire extension deal, while it awaited US President Donald Trump’s approval.

The Wire.in reported that the agreement could lift restrictions on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and that US sources confirmed to Axios News that the two sides agreed on a memorandum of understanding to extend the ceasefire and launch negotiations on Iran’s nuclear programme.

Al Jazeera

The same account also said Vice President J.D. Vance earlier said Washington and Tehran had made “a lot of progress” on an agreement to end the war.

In a separate development, The Standard (HK) said Iran’s Revolutionary Guard targeted a U.S. airbase on Thursday after the U.S. military carried out strikes on an Iranian drone operation near the Strait of Hormuz.

The Standard (HK) quoted a Washington official as saying the military shot down four Iranian attack drones and struck a ground control station in the port city of Bandar Abbas that was about to launch a fifth drone.

PressTV quoted Mohsen Rezaei, a former chief commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, saying “Trump’s and Netanyahu’s doctrines are essentially the same” and that if they want to impose a new order on the region, “Iran must inevitably collapse.”

Rezaei told CGTN that “As long as Iran remains standing, none of their desired ‘new orders’ will be realized,” and he argued that the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed to the enemy’s military ships but open to commercial vessels.

PressTV said Iran shut the Strait of Hormuz to its enemies and their allies following the start of US-Israeli aggression in late February, and it added that Iranian authorities imposed much stricter controls last month after Trump announced a blockade targeting Iranian vessels and ports.

The Standard (HK) reported that Trump dismissed a report he was close to a compromise deal with Tehran and said, “Nobody's going to control (the strait),” adding, “It's international waters and Oman will behave just like everybody else or we'll have to blow them up.”

The Standard (HK) also said Iran was insisting on the United States releasing Iranian funds and quoted Ali Bagheri Kani saying, “We are seeking the release of all Iranian assets blocked by the United States, and this is the legal right of the Iranian nation.”