Image: from Air Power X @RealAirPower1
By Open Chronicle Staff with Agencies
BEIRUT / TEHRAN / TEL AVIV — The regional conflict ignited by a U.S.-Israeli offensive has reached a fever pitch as Israel launched its most extensive wave of airstrikes to date on the Iranian capital, while Tehran responded with a direct missile barrage on Tel Aviv. The seven-day war, which began with the assassination of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, shows no sign of de-escalation as both sides target the political and security hearts of their adversaries.
A CNN team of @fpleitgenCNN and @claudiaotto have arrived in Tehran, where heavy airstrikes struck just before dawn.
The team heard jets and saw thick billowing smoke.
His first report from the capital: pic.twitter.com/o8MbfCHfow
— CNN International PR (@cnnipr) March 6, 2026
Tehran Under Fire
The Israeli military announced on Friday morning that it had begun a “broad-scale wave of strikes” targeting the “heart of Tehran.” This latest escalation follows a week of sustained bombardment that officials say has already dismantled the majority of Iran’s air defense systems and ballistic missile launch sites.
Key targets in the latest wave include:
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The “Leadership Complex”: Facilities associated with the Assembly of Experts and the Presidential Office.
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Security Apparatus: Headquarters of the IRGC, the Quds Force, and the Basij paramilitary force in eastern Tehran.
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Cyber and Intelligence: Units belonging to Iran’s internal security and cyber warfare divisions.
“The Israeli Air Force has begun a broad-scale strike targeting Iranian terror regime targets in Tehran,” a brief IDF statement confirmed.
Retaliation in Tel Aviv
Minutes after the strikes on Tehran were reported, sirens blared across central Israel. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed responsibility for firing a barrage of Kheibar missiles toward Tel Aviv as part of “Operation True Promise IV.”
Explosions were heard across the city’s commercial hub, with reports of direct impacts in the Ramat Gan area. While Israel’s Iron Dome and other defensive systems intercepted many of the incoming threats, the volume of the attack sparked panic, marking one of the most significant penetrations of Israeli airspace since the conflict began on February 28.
Regional Contagion
The violence is no longer contained within the borders of the two primary combatants. The conflict has metastasized across the Middle East:
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Lebanon: Israel has conducted dozens of airstrikes on Hezbollah strongholds in Beirut’s southern suburbs after the group joined the fray. The Lebanese government has since taken the unprecedented step of banning Hezbollah’s military activities and ordering the arrest of IRGC personnel.
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The Gulf: Iranian drones and missiles have targeted U.S. and allied interests in Qatar, Kuwait, and the UAE.
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Maritime War: Hostilities have reached as far as the Indian Ocean, where U.S. forces reportedly sank an Iranian drone carrier near Sri Lanka.
A Growing Humanitarian Toll
The human cost of the seven-day war continues to mount. Iranian state media and the Red Crescent report that over 1,000 people have been killed in Iran, including a devastating strike on a girls’ school in Minab earlier in the week. In Israel, dozens have been injured and several killed by retaliatory strikes, while in Lebanon, over 83,000 people have been displaced.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth warned that the campaign is “about to surge dramatically,” signaling that the Trump administration is prepared for a war of attrition to ensure the “complete dismantling” of Iran’s military capabilities.