Roar Over Tehran: Israeli Warplanes Maul Iran’s Nuclear Nerve Centers in Bold Nocturnal Blitz

By: Fern Sidman

In a dramatic and unprecedented escalation, the Israeli Air Force (IAF) launched a sweeping series of airstrikes overnight Thursday across multiple strategic regions in Iran, with central Tehran bearing the brunt of an operation that Israeli defense officials describe as one of the most expansive aerial offensives conducted in the region in recent years. The objective, according to repeated statements from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), was both tactical and existential: to cripple Iran’s nuclear weapons development program and dismantle key components of its growing missile arsenal.

As reported by The Jewish News Syndicate (JNS) on Friday, more than 60 IAF fighter jets participated in the coordinated assault, dropping approximately 120 precision-guided munitions on dozens of pre-identified targets. Israeli military planners, aided by intelligence from the IDF Intelligence Directorate, focused heavily on Tehran’s most sensitive military facilities, including a notorious defense research institution believed to be central to Iran’s clandestine nuclear ambitions.

Exiled crown prince of Iran HRH Reza Pahlavi advocates for a new future for Iran. @Iran @PahlaviReza #ShahofIran #iranisraelwar https://t.co/wGn0epAnpr

— The Jewish Voice (@TJVNEWS) June 20, 2025

Among the most high-profile targets was the Tehran headquarters of the Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research (SPND)—a shadowy entity long associated with Iran’s nuclear weapons enterprise. Founded in 2011 by the late Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, a senior Iranian nuclear scientist assassinated in 2020, the SPND is known for developing advanced weapons technologies that enhance Iran’s conventional and asymmetrical warfare capabilities. The IDF, in statements relayed by JNS, described the SPND headquarters as a “core node” of Iranian weapons innovation, asserting that its destruction delivers a blow to both Iran’s nuclear aspirations and its broader military strategy.

Israeli army attacks Iranian police headquarters

Air Force fighter jets, guided by precise intelligence from the Army Intelligence Department, attacked the headquarters of the Iranian regime’s police force and the headquarters of the special police force units located in Tehran.… pic.twitter.com/TG5gmrKOKp

— Alex Kennedy (@AlexkennedyIran) June 20, 2025

The air campaign extended beyond Tehran. According to the information provided in the JNS report, Israeli jets also struck multiple sites in Isfahan, Kermanshah, and Tabriz, hitting missile manufacturing plants, surface-to-surface missile storage facilities, and radar detection systems designed to target Israeli aircraft. Particularly notable was the assault on facilities responsible for casting missile engines and producing raw materials for ballistic missile development—resources described by the IDF as having taken “years to accumulate” and “critical to the industrial base” of Iran’s defense establishment.

From the skies, the army — and from the ground, Mossad — are sending the Islamic Republic’s terrorists straight to hell🤭

– A commander of the IRGC — the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps — has been targeted and eliminated.
Shariati Street-Tehran
pic.twitter.com/ALYzu2aJTx

— Niyak Ghorbani (نیاک) (@GhorbaniiNiyak) June 20, 2025

Friday saw additional waves of airstrikes. Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin, IDF spokesperson, told JNS that more than 25 Israeli jets executed precise attacks on over 35 missile launch and storage sites in the Kermanshah and Tabriz regions alone. These attacks, Defrin emphasized, were designed not merely to neutralize immediate threats, but to reshape Israel’s strategic calculus by establishing enduring aerial dominance over Iranian skies.

“Our objective is clear,” said Brig. Gen. Defrin, as quoted by JNS. “To eliminate the existential threat to the State of Israel by degrading the nuclear program and significantly degrading the missile array. Our actions are speaking louder than words: those who act against us are paying a heavy price.”

Another key component of the operation included the targeting of Iran’s Special Forces unit headquarters, part of the Internal Security Forces, which Defrin described as “one of the regime’s central military bodies.” According to the JNS report, the strikes were aimed at disabling command-and-control capabilities embedded within the Iranian homeland and curbing Tehran’s capacity to coordinate asymmetric operations against Israeli interests and allies in the region.

Adding to the intensity of the operation, the IDF confirmed via JNS that Israeli warplanes also targeted Iranian surface-to-air missile systems, which were recently deployed to counter Israeli air incursions. The dismantling of these systems, IDF officials argue, will extend Israel’s freedom of action and remove significant barriers to future preemptive operations inside Iranian territory.

Meanwhile, JNS reported that Israeli precision strikes severely damaged the Khondab heavy water research facility, near Arak. Although the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed that the facility was non-operational and devoid of fissile material at the time of the attack, it noted that essential infrastructure—specifically, its distillation unit—was significantly damaged. “There were no radiological effects,” the IAEA assured in a statement cited by JNS.

Yet Thursday’s air campaign was not limited to symbolic or inactive sites. A second round of IAF strikes, according to military officials speaking to JNS, zeroed in on Iran’s nuclear reactor near Arak, striking the core seal structure, a component essential to plutonium production. The reactor had long been viewed by Western analysts as a potential site for the production of weapons-grade material, despite Iran’s claims of peaceful nuclear intent.

Elsewhere, Israeli aircraft conducted additional sorties against a nuclear weapons research site near Natanz, targeting specialized equipment and personnel tasked with accelerating the Islamic Republic’s nuclear enrichment capabilities. These sites, said the IDF in statements carried by JNS, represent Iran’s most aggressive efforts to circumvent international inspections and race toward nuclear breakout.

“The depth and scale of these strikes,” JNS reported, “mark a turning point in Israel’s strategic doctrine, reflecting a shift from containment and sabotage to outright neutralization of Iran’s high-value military and nuclear targets.”

In the aftermath of the strikes, Iranian state media downplayed the extent of the damage, while threatening retaliation. Nevertheless, analysts cited by JNS noted a conspicuous absence of any significant counter-strike, a development that some interpret as an indication of Iran’s temporary paralysis in the face of Israel’s technological and operational superiority.

Back in Israel, officials praised the IDF’s pilots and technical crews, with Brig. Gen. Defrin noting the “around-the-clock precision and professionalism” of both reservists and active-duty personnel. “Each of these strikes strengthens our aerial superiority over Iranian skies,” he told JNS, “and expands our freedom of action going forward.”

While the international community has issued cautious responses—many urging restraint—Israel’s message, as disseminated in the JNS report remains unambiguous: any actor seeking to develop weapons of mass destruction aimed at the Jewish state will face the full weight of Israel’s military deterrent.

As regional tensions continue to escalate, the coming days will test whether the operation has truly set back Iran’s nuclear ambitions—or whether it marks the opening salvo in a more prolonged and volatile confrontation. But for now, the Israeli Air Force has made one thing unmistakably clear: it is prepared to act decisively to protect the nation’s future.