Israeli jets strike Iranian chemical and missile infrastructure

Over the past 24 hours, Israeli fighter jets struck more than 120 air-defense and missile targets in central and western Iran, the military said on Sunday morning.

By JNS

Israeli warplanes struck a petrochemical complex in southwestern Iran on Saturday that the military said was an essential site for producing and exporting chemical materials to the regime’s armed forces, including a “critical component for ballistic missiles” used to target the Jewish state.

As part of the strikes in Mahshahr in Khuzestan province, the Israeli Air Force targeted a site housing one of two main facilities used to produce materials for explosives, ballistic missiles and other weapons.

Graphic showing petrochemical factories in Mahshahr, in southwest Iran, that the Israeli military says produce chemical elements used by Tehran to make weapons. Credit: Israel Defense Forces.

“The damage to this infrastructure is expected to disrupt the regime’s ability to use the materials produced at the facility for manufacturing various types of weapons intended to target the State of Israel,” the Israel Defense Forces said, adding that the attack is part of an “ongoing phase aimed at deepening the damage to the core systems and foundations of the Iranian terror regime.”

Jerusalem and Washington launched joint operations against the Iranian regime on Feb. 28, targeting senior leaders along with elements of its nuclear and ballistic missile programs and internal security forces as part of a broader campaign to neutralize Tehran’s threat to Israel and the wider Middle East.

Over the past 24 hours, Israeli fighter jets struck more than 120 air-defense and missile targets in central and western Iran, the military said on Sunday morning.

The targets included Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps ballistic-missile array sites, drone production and launch facilities, and air-defense batteries, according to the IDF.

“The dismantled air-defense systems constituted a threat to the Israeli Air Force’s fighter jets, and their dismantling contributes to maintaining the Israeli Air Force’s air superiority over Iran,” the military said.

Simultaneous waves of strikes against targets in Iran and Lebanon were carried out over the weekend, hitting more than 200 sites linked to Tehran and its terror proxy Hezbollah, according to the IDF.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted a video message to X on Saturday night, vowing to continue “crushing the terror regime” and wishing Israelis a “good week” as the war with Iran and its proxies entered a new phase.

U.S. President Donald Trump boasted on his Truth Social platform on Saturday that “many of Iran’s military leaders” were “terminated, along with much else, with this massive strike in Tehran,” referring to the latest wave of joint U.S.-Israeli attacks on the regime, and he released video of the bombardment.

The joint campaign has been codenamed “Roaring Lion” by Israel and “Epic Fury” by the United States.

In a statement on Saturday night, the military said its air force struck dozens of Iranian regime targets across several regions, including an IRGC complex used to store weapons such as ballistic missile launchers, facilities for the production, storage and development of anti-aircraft ballistic missiles, and Iranian air-defense systems.

In Lebanon, the IDF said it hit more than 140 Hezbollah sites, including a training camp, weapons depots, launch positions, Radwan Force headquarters and other infrastructure in Beirut and across the country.

Ground troops continued operating in Southern Lebanon, the military added, saying units from the 91st, 146th and 36th divisions killed dozens of Hezbollah terrorists in airstrikes and close combat, uncovered weapons caches and tunnel shafts, and fired more than 400 artillery shells at Hezbollah positions over the past day.

The IDF said another strike by the 215th Brigade, under the 162nd Division, destroyed a Hezbollah command site housing several drones that had been used to launch unmanned aircraft at Israeli forces and territory, and that troops found additional firearms, vests and ammunition during the operation.

Since the Hezbollah operation began, the air force has carried out more than 2,000 strikes in support of ground troops, using fighter jets, combat helicopters and remotely piloted aircraft, the IDF said later Sunday, releasing footage highlighting cooperation between the IAF and ground forces in Southern Lebanon.

IAF control centers maintain direct communication with ground units, accompanying operations across multiple sectors, directing troops in the field and eliminating threats at times in close proximity to Israeli forces, according to the statement.

Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar, the IAF commander, held a situational assessment at Northern Command with Maj. Gen. Rafi Milo to review operational plans and air‑ground requirements going forward, the military added.

The IDF also published radio communications from helicopter and fighter‑jet pilots supporting ground forces in Southern Lebanon.

“The IDF will continue to deepen its operations against the Iranian terror regime and the Hezbollah terrorist organization in parallel, in order to remove threats to civilians of the State of Israel,” the military said.