The attacks come just a day after US President Donald Trump
warned Tehran's residents to evacuate and demanded the country’s unconditional
surrender.
Israel has yet to successfully target Iran's Fordo facility, which lies deep within a mountainside. Hitting Fordo would require the US to get involved militarily and deploy B-2 stealth bombers to drop its bunker-busting bomb. The 14,000 kg GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator uses its weight and sheer kinetic force to reach deeply buried targets.
Israel announced a new wave of strikes on Tuesday evening as
explosions and anti-aircraft fire boomed throughout Tehran, shaking buildings.
The Israeli military said its warplanes had targeted 12 missile launch sites
and storage facilities.
Israel's military warned the population to stay close to
shelters as Iran fired a new barrage of missiles, but officials said most were
intercepted.
Sirens sounded in southern Israel, including in the desert
town of Dimona, the heart of Israel's never-acknowledged nuclear arms program.
Early on Tuesday, downtown Tehran saw a significant decrease
in activity, with numerous shops closed, including the historic Grand Bazaar,
which typically shuts its doors only during periods of crisis, such as the 2022
anti-government protests and the coronavirus pandemic.
Tehran is one of the largest cities in the Middle East, with
around 10 million residents, roughly equivalent to Israel's entire population.
Iran asserts that its nuclear program is peaceful, while the
United States and other nations have determined that Tehran has not engaged in
a systematic effort to develop a nuclear weapon since 2003.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claims that
strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities have delayed the nation's nuclear program
by a "very, very long time”,
Israel has yet to successfully target Iran's Fordo facility,
which lies deep within a mountainside. Hitting Fordo would require the US to
get involved militarily and deploy B-2 stealth bombers to drop its bunker-busting
bomb. The 14,000 kg GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator uses its weight and
sheer kinetic force to reach deeply buried targets.
