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The joint Israeli-American war on Iran is entering a second phase that will see the targeting of ballistic missile sites buried deep underground, two sources familiar with Israel’s military campaign told Reuters on March 5.
As the first week of the war nears its end, the sources said that the second phase will include bunkers storing ballistic missiles and equipment. Many such strikes would likely be carried out by the U.S. with its heavy bombers capable of carrying massive bunker-busting bombs that can penetrate Iran’s heavily fortified underground ballistic missile sites.
One of the sources told the news agency that Israel aims to neutralize Iran’s ability to launch aerial attacks at Israel by the end of the war, which is also focused on taking out the Islamic Republic’s leadership.
Following the release of the report, Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir confirmed that Israel is moving on to the “next stage of the campaign” against Iran.
“After completing the stage of the surprise opening blow, in which we created air superiority and suppressed the ballistic missile array, we are now moving to the next phase of the campaign, in which we will intensify the strike on the foundations of the regime and its military capabilities,” Zamir said in a press statement.
“We have additional surprising moves in our hands, which I do not intend to reveal,” he added.
Zamir also noted that he is in “continuous contact” with his American counterparts, including Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Dan Caine, and the commander of Central Command (CENTCOM), Adm. Brad Cooper.
Both the U.S. and Israel have been escalating their strikes on Iran, with videos posted online showing large blasts across the Islamic Republic.
Overnight, Israeli strikes hit one underground site used by Iran to store ballistic missiles, in addition to several other air defense missile storage sites, along with ballistic missile launchers and troops, according to the IDF.
The military announced later in the day that it had struck the headquarters of Iran’s special forces, bases of the Basij paramilitary force, and other government sites in the capital, Tehran, and the Alborz province. Videos showing some of the recent strikes were released.
CENTCOM, from its side, released footage showing U.S. strikes on Iranian missile launchers and warplanes, without providing details.
The command also announced that B-52 bombers had carried out another round of strikes against targets in the Islamic Republic, including ballistic missiles and command and control posts. Bombers of this type joined the war just a day earlier.
Iran’s Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs announced on March 5 that the death toll from the war has exceeded 1,230. The number will likely continue to grow as the U.S. and Israel seem to be prepared to continue the war for at least the next few months.
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the second face is that besides attacks on their energy infrastructure, the blockade of oil and gas on the unfriendly arab desert dwelling monarchies will also affect the flow of imports of foods and other important stuffs that will affect the regular people of the arabs in the persian gulf countries and may cause another new and different arab spring.