Israeli jets destroy Khamenei bunker in Tehran, expand strikes across Iran

The Israeli Air Force announced on Friday that it had bombed the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s bunker in Tehran. The bunker – still being used by senior Iranian officials – was reportedly destroyed after some 50 Israeli fighter jets dropped around 100 bombs on the high-value target, as part of the IDF's Operation Roaring Lion campaign against the Iranian regime.

The bunker was located beneath the “leadership complex,” which was destroyed last Saturday (28 Feb) when Israeli fighter jets eliminated Khamenei alongside multiple top Iranian political and military officials. The vast bunker complex was allegedly spread across multiple streets and incorporated “many entry points and rooms for gatherings of senior members of the Iranian terror regime,” according to the IDF.

The Israeli military emphasized, “The compound continued to be used by senior members of the Iranian regime” even after Khamenei was killed. The IDF refrained from mentioning specific Iranian officials who were being targeted.

The Israel Defense Force Chief of Staff, Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir said Israel, together with the United States, was “crushing the Iranian terror regime, and will seize every opportunity to deepen our achievements.”

Later on Friday, the IDF announced it had targeted “a senior Iranian terror regime commander,” who was later identified as Asghar Hijazi, acting chief of staff in Khamenei's office. Hijazi reportedly had a senior role in the Islamic Republic’s leadership hierarchy.

Raz Zimmt, director of the Iran and Shiite Axis Program at the Institute for National Security Studies think tank, explained the significance of Hijazi's role within the regime.

“For years, he has been considered one of the most influential figures in the supreme leader’s office,” Zimmt explained, and said he was “far more than just the chief of staff” as he “served as Khamenei’s representative in sensitive political and security consultations.”

While Tehran remains at the center of Israel’s military offensive, the Israeli Air Force announced that it had struck an additional 400 military targets across western Iran on Friday. The targets included ballistic missile launchers and warehouses with drones and other weapons that Tehran has been using against Israel, U.S. forces and the Arab Gulf states.

The U.S. military announced that Iranian missile launches have declined by 90% as a result of the joint U.S. and Israeli aerial campaign targeting Iran's missiles and facilities. Some 300 missile launchers have already been destroyed during the war.

Israel believes the Iranian regime still has between 100 and 200 ballistic missile launchers. The Israeli Air Force is therefore continuing to “hunt down” these launchers to “reduce as much as possible the scope of fire towards Israel,” according to the IDF.

Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump rejected any new ceasefire deal with Iran, demanding an unconditional surrender from the ayatollah regime.

“There will be no deal with Iran except UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!” Trump stated in a post on the Truth Social platform.

“After [Iran’s unconditional surrender], and the selection of a GREAT & ACCEPTABLE Leader(s), we, and many of our wonderful and very brave allies and partners, will work tirelessly to bring Iran back from the brink of destruction, making it economically bigger, better and stronger than ever before,” Trump wrote.

Both the U.S. and Israeli militaries have highlighted the massive military achievements against Iran as a result of the joint operations, while adding that much work remains to be done to neutralize the ayatollah regime as a military threat to the Middle East and the world.