The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) on Tuesday (June 17) released a footage of an airstrike, showing its air force hitting an Iranian anti-aircraft unit as it was trying to launch surface-to-air missiles at Israeli military aircraft.
IDF Arabic spokesperson Avichay Adraee wrote on the social media platform X: “An Israeli air force jet detected an Iranian launch team firing anti-aircraft missiles towards it while on a mission in Iranian airspace yesterday. Within seconds, the IDF immediately targeted and destroyed the launch platform.”
In the video footage, two individuals appear to disappear in a violent explosion.
Adraee emphasized, “Operation Rising Lion has entered its fifth day. We will continue to dismantle Iran’s strategic systems, deepening and expanding on the current achievements.”
The IDF stated that the Israeli air force launched a series of large-scale airstrikes on western Iran on Tuesday, targeting “multiple locations and dozens of surface-to-surface missile launchers.”
The IDF added that since early Tuesday morning, the air force has been conducting targeted strikes on ground-to-air missile launch sites and radar stations in western Iran based on intelligence. “The IDF air force continues to operate in Iranian airspace, searching for and destroying missile launch installations targeting Israeli territory.”
Videos released by the Israeli Defense Forces on Tuesday showed multiple targets exploding.
Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon addressed the UN headquarters in New York on Monday, delivering a message to the Iranian people in Persian, emphasizing that Israel is not against the Iranian people but against the regime oppressing them.
“We know the truth: you are not our enemies. You are the earliest and most tragic victims of these symbols of Ayatollahs (representatives of God),” Danon stated.
The Israeli Defense Forces stated that on Tuesday, a precise strike was carried out on an Iranian military command center in Tehran, resulting in the killing of Iran’s wartime Chief of Staff and top military leader, Major General Ali Shadmani. His predecessor, Major General Gholam Rashid, was killed in Israel’s first round of airstrikes on Iran on June 13.