Israel Says “The War Has Entered a New Phase” as It Targets the Heart of Iran’s Missile Development

Late-Stage Offensive Aims to Cripple Core Infrastructure
Iran Keeps Up Retaliatory Strikes as Clash Continues
U.S. Signals Willingness to End Operation With a “Victory Declaration”

Israel has directly struck a ballistic missile research hub in Tehran, marking a further escalation in the character of the military campaign. With research and development facilities and underground passageways located inside a key military academy included among the targets, the operation is being viewed as a direct assault on the core of Iran’s missile development apparatus.

At the same time, Iran struck Israeli refining facilities and expanded missile and drone attacks targeting Gulf energy infrastructure and U.S. military bases across the Middle East, broadening the scope of the conflict across the region. The United States also raised tensions by openly stating that it intends to weaken Iran’s military capabilities through concentrated short-term strikes.

Intent to Weaken Support Capacity for Armed Networks

On the 10th (local time), the Israeli military said in a statement that it had bombed an underground ballistic missile research and development facility operated by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Tehran. “One of the main strike locations was an R&D complex inside Imam Hossein University, a military school,” the Israeli military said, adding that it had struck underground passageways where IRGC armed units had been conducting experiments and tests for ballistic missile development and production processes. The Israeli military added that it had also targeted infrastructure at the headquarters of the Quds Force, the IRGC branch responsible for overseas operations, as well as other weapons production facilities and Iran’s air defense systems.

The Israeli military described the operation as “a new phase of the war aimed at putting even greater pressure on the Iranian regime’s core systems and infrastructure.” Since launching military operations against Iran in coordination with the United States on the 28th of last month, Israel has continued strikes aimed at missile launch facilities and energy-related infrastructure, alongside efforts to eliminate the country’s top leadership. Against that backdrop, the simultaneous targeting of ballistic missile development sites and Quds Force headquarters infrastructure is being interpreted as a military move designed to weaken both Iran’s missile development capacity and its ability to support armed networks across the region.

The United States also delivered a hard-line message to Iran alongside the airstrikes. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that “today will be the most intense day of airstrikes against Iran,” ratcheting up military pressure. “Iran is isolated and being defeated badly,” he said, stressing that “the goal of this war is to completely destroy Iran’s missile and defense industrial base, its naval power, and permanently prevent it from acquiring nuclear weapons.” The remarks suggest that Israel’s strike on the ballistic missile development facility was not an isolated military action, but part of a broader pressure campaign carried out in step with Washington.

Air Raid Alerts Spread Across the Middle East

The course of the war has in fact moved toward broader confrontation as Iran and Israel exchanged retaliatory strikes. On the 9th, Iran announced that it had struck an oil refinery and fuel storage facilities in the Israeli industrial city of Haifa. It said the attack was retaliation for Israeli strikes on major oil storage sites around Tehran. In announcing the attack, Iran also said it had significantly expanded missile and drone strikes targeting mainland Israel, U.S. military bases in the Middle East, and energy infrastructure in the Gulf region.

As the scope of Iran’s attacks widened, the effects of the conflict also spread to neighboring countries. Missile alerts sounded in the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain during continued Iranian strikes, while Saudi authorities said they had shot down two drones over the oil-producing eastern region. In another incident, a ballistic missile launched from Iran entered Turkish airspace and was intercepted by NATO air defenses. Debris from the downed missile fell in the southeastern Turkish region of Gaziantep, though no casualties were reported, according to Turkey’s Defense Ministry.

Israel also expanded the battlefield beyond Iranian territory into Lebanon. On the 9th, the Israeli Air Force carried out large-scale airstrikes on Iran, hitting dozens of military facilities including a surface-to-air missile production site in Isfahan. Israeli forces are believed to have dropped around 170 bombs in the course of the operation. On the same day, Israel intensified attacks on the Lebanese front, launching strikes on Hezbollah positions in southern and eastern Beirut. The widening of the battlefield has also fueled controversy over the weapons used.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) raised allegations that Israeli forces used white phosphorus in the southern Lebanese village of Yohmor, saying it had obtained footage showing “at least two white phosphorus munitions exploding above a residential area, causing fires in nearby homes and vehicles.” White phosphorus ignites at very high temperatures when exposed to air and produces large amounts of smoke and flame. Because contact with the substance can burn through human tissue to the bone, it is often referred to as a “devil’s weapon.” HRW said that “Israel should immediately stop all use of white phosphorus in populated areas, where it puts civilians at risk of indiscriminate attack.”

Neutralize Air Defenses, Then Seek an Early End to the War

The United States also appears to be moving toward an early end to the war while employing a strategy of short-term, wave-style offensives. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt made clear that the standard for ending operations against Iran does not depend on a declaration of surrender by Tehran or a negotiated agreement, saying that “ultimately, the operation will end when the commander in chief (President Trump) determines that the military objectives have been fully achieved.” That has led to interpretations that the administration is internally considering a scenario in which the United States wraps up the operation with what would amount to a declaration of victory once it judges that sufficient military results have been secured.

The White House also stressed that the operation had from the outset been designed on the premise of achieving its core goals within a relatively short period. Leavitt said that “the initial U.S. military timeline envisioned fully accomplishing the mission in roughly four to six weeks,” adding that “our brave warriors are carrying out the mission far faster and more efficiently than expected.” The operational goals previously disclosed by the United States included destroying Iran’s missile and missile production capabilities, neutralizing its naval power, permanently blocking any acquisition of nuclear weapons, and weakening Iranian proxy forces across the region.

Supporting that view, the airstrikes have been carried out in a way that targets the full breadth of Iran’s military infrastructure. According to a special report by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) and the Critical Threats Project (CTP), coalition forces had struck 11 of Iran’s 17 air bases within ten days of the outbreak of war. Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also said at a briefing that “Iran’s advanced surface-to-air missile systems are no longer a meaningful variable,” offering the assessment that much of Iran’s air defense network had already been neutralized. “We can move our fighter aircraft deeper with relatively little interference,” he said, signaling the possibility of expanding attacks into key strategic interior areas of Iran.

Still, analysts say that even if the United States declares the end of military operations, whether the war would actually end immediately remains uncertain. Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute, said that “Tehran also has agency,” adding that “there is currently no sign that they would agree that the war is over.” From Iran’s perspective, an early ceasefire would amount to giving the United States and Israel time to rearm, meaning Tehran is unlikely to agree easily to an end to the war unless conditions such as sanctions relief are put on the table.