Pace of Iranian missile strikes plummets as IDF & US Air Force destroy launchers, soldiers abandon posts

Israeli security officials believe there has been a significant decrease in missile launches from Iran, partly due to severe damage to launchers and the flight of Iranian soldiers for fear of being eliminated, Kan News reported on Tuesday evening.

The decline in launches from Iran is expected to continue, a security official said. “We and the Americans are weakening Iran’s ability to carry out large-scale attacks,” he added.

Estimates indicate that Iran carried out about 90 missile launches toward Israel on the first day of Operation Roaring Lion. On March 1, that number dropped to about 65, and on March 2 to around 25.

By the evening of March 3, there were only some 20 Iranian launches toward Israel.

In the past 24 hours, hundreds of fighter jets and aircraft have been striking hundreds of targets simultaneously in Iran and Lebanon. Since the start of the operation, the Israeli Air Force has neutralized ~300 Iranian missile launchers.

As part of the defensive effort, the… pic.twitter.com/2ckdlOEPFW

— Israeli Air Force (@IAFsite) March 3, 2026

Iran has been unable to fire simultaneous barrages of missiles, as it did during Operation Rising Lion last June. Most of the launches so far have originated in western Iran – in an area spanning roughly 1,000 kilometers (about 640 miles) jointly being targeted by Israeli and American forces

According to estimates, about 18 sites were impacted by interceptor shrapnel during Tuesday’s missile launches toward the Tel Aviv Metropolitan area. Seven people were wounded, one of them moderately.

On Monday evening, reports indicated that the IDF identified a shift over the previous 24 hours in both the nature and pace of Iran’s launches, reflected in larger, more coordinated barrages – ranging from nine to 30 missiles at a time. 

With Hezbollah now engaged in the campaign, the IDF is also preparing for the possible involvement of the Houthis in Yemen alongside Hezbollah forces in Lebanon, viewing the situation as a multi-front conflict.