Key facts
- Iranian air defense systems were activated over Tehran in response to 'hostile threats'.
- An Israeli defense minister stated Israel was prepared for renewed conflict with Iran.
- Israel was awaiting U.S. approval to strike Iran's energy and electricity facilities.
- IDF forces uncovered a Hezbollah underground command center in Lebanon.
Iranian air defense systems were activated over Tehran on Thursday in response to 'hostile threats,' according to the semi-official Mehr News Agency. Footage circulated online purporting to show flashes in the sky following the activation of air defense systems in the Iranian capital.
An Israeli official stated that Israel was not carrying out strikes in Iran. Earlier, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz remarked that Israel was "waiting for a green light from the United States" to strike Iran's main energy and electricity facilities and destroy its national economic infrastructure. Katz made these comments following a security assessment with IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir and other senior defense officials, stating that Israel is prepared to renew the war against Iran.
Katz described Iran's leadership as weakened, focusing on internal repression and threatening global oil prices, while its national infrastructure remains exposed to attack. He added that Iran's leaders "do not care about the heavy price paid by the civilian population — only about personal survival, which is not guaranteed."
Separately, IDF forces uncovered a Hezbollah underground command center approximately 25 meters deep beneath a clothing store in the southern Lebanese village of al-Khiam. The IDF stated that the Hezbollah terrorist organization embeds terror infrastructure within civilian areas and that its forces will continue to operate to defend the forward line of defense and remove threats to Israeli citizens and forces.