Courtesy of JNS. Photo credit: IDF
An Israeli Air Force fighter jet following attacks against Islamic Republic targets in Iran, March 2, 2026
(JNS) — Israeli Air Force jets have dropped a total of some 2,500 munitions on more than 600 targets in Iran since the start of “Operation Roaring Lion,” the Israel Defense Forces said on Mar. 2.
Since Feb. 28, the IAF targeted some 20 sites affiliated with Tehran’s defense establishment, more than 150 ballistic missiles launchers and over 200 air defense systems, the IDF said.
“The Air Force continues to strike across Iran and neutralize launchers,” the Israel Defense Forces stated earlier on Mar. 2, sharing footage of fighter jets returning after hitting targets in the Islamic Republic.
On Mar. 1, the IDF announced that it carried out more than 700 sorties after the IAF “cleared the way to Tehran” within 24 hours of the start of “Operation Roaring Lion.”
Achieving air superiority over Tehran allows the IAF to strike targets with heavy, precision-guided munitions from inside Iran’s airspace.
Targets included missile launchers and air defense batteries, as well as command centers and headquarters of the regime, the military added.
Among the sites that were struck were headquarters of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, IRGC Air Force command centers, intelligence headquarters and internal security headquarters.
The targeted strikes were launched after “IDF intelligence had identified active operational presence of Iranian regime personnel responsible for managing combat operations and planning terror campaigns against the State of Israel and regional countries,” according to a statement.
It noted that Sunday’s wave of strikes “significantly degrades the Iranian regime’s command-and-control capabilities, including the elimination of personnel operating within its most central military headquarters.”
IAF jets struck over 30 sites linked to Tehran’s ballistic missile array and air defense systems “in order to minimize fire toward the State of Israel and degrade the Iranian terrorist regime’s ballistic missile array.”
In addition, the IDF intercepted more than 50 drones launched from Iran toward Israel since Saturday, it said.
IDF Spokesperson Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin, in English-language remarks on Sunday evening, said the Jewish state was “acting now for a safer region — for today and for the future.
“I want to express my deep gratitude to our U.S. counterparts for the firm partnership, confronting a shared threat to regional and global security,” the military spokesman added. “Together, our combined capabilities are stronger than ever.”
The Israeli and U.S. militaries launched preemptive airstrikes on the Islamic Republic on Saturday to neutralize the threats posed by Tehran, killing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in the opening shot of the campaign that Washington has dubbed “Operation Epic Fury.”
Through cooperation with the United States, Iran’s air defenses were knocked out in a shorter time than during Israel’s June 2025 “Operation Rising Lion,” when air superiority was declared about 48 hours into the fighting.
As part of the war, the Islamic regime has carried out missile and drone attacks targeting Israel, Gulf states including the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait, as well as Cyprus.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, in separate statements on Sunday, said that the joint military action would continue until Washington and Jerusalem’s objectives are achieved.
Trump told Britain’s Daily Mail newspaper on Sunday that the war could “take four weeks — or less,” noting that “it’s a big country.”
The president said “Operation Epic Fury” was proceeding as planned, declaring that the U.S. military likely killed 48 of Iran’s top leaders.
The IDF revealed Monday that, as part of the opening strike on Saturday morning, it eliminated senior members of Iran’s Intelligence Ministry, which it described as the terrorist regime’s “main intelligence body.”
The strike was said to have targeted Sayed Yahya Hamidi, Iran’s deputy minister of intelligence for “Israel Affairs” — who directed terrorist attacks against Jews, Western actors and other regime opponents around the world — and Jalal Pour Hossein, who headed the espionage division.
“Together with them, additional senior terrorists were eliminated,” the IDF said. “These were Iranian regime officials who operated to advance attacks around the world and repress the Iranian people, including during the recent protests.”
The elimination of the ministry’s senior leadership “led to a significant blow to the regime’s ability to advance terrorist attacks and to target regime opponents within Iran,” according to the army’s statement.
