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Israeli forces continued striking missile launch sites across Iran on Saturday, military officials said, escalating a conflict that has now reached deep into Iranian territory for the first time since fighting began.
The Israeli air force targeted "dozens of surface-to-surface missile launchers in Iran," according to a military statement, following overnight strikes that hit surface-to-air missile infrastructure around Tehran.
The attacks marked a significant expansion of the conflict's geographic scope. "For the first time since the beginning of the war, over 1,500 kilometres (well over 900 miles) from Israeli territory, the Israeli air force struck defence arrays in the area of Tehran," the military said.
Iran launched multiple missile barrages against Israel overnight, retaliating against what it characterized as a massive Israeli assault on its nuclear and military facilities Friday that killed key generals and nuclear scientists.
The exchange of fire continued for a second consecutive day despite mounting international pressure for both sides to de-escalate the conflict.
Israeli emergency services reported two fatalities when a rocket struck a residential area early Saturday morning, underscoring the civilian impact of the expanding military confrontation.
Major General Tomer Bar, commanding officer of the Israeli air force, described the overnight Tehran-area strikes as carrying "operational and national significance."
"We damaged—and will continue to damage—strategic sites and enemy sources of knowledge," Bar said in a military statement. "Activities like these require complicated coordination and collaboration between different sources and capabilities in the force."
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