Israeli strikes kill hundreds regime soldiers, break open infamous Evin prison & destroy Tehran’s ‘doomsday clock’

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) carried out their heaviest and broadest waves of airstrikes against the Iranian regime on Monday, focusing on security services that are among the regime’s most important pillars of internal support.

“50 Israeli Air Force fighter jets used over 100 munitions in strikes on military targets belonging to the Iranian regime,” IDF Spokesman Brig.-Gen. Effie Defrin said in a briefing.

“The message we are sending through these strikes is clear: We have many more strike plans. We will continue to target every component and layer of the regime that is involved in activities that threaten the State of Israel,” he added.

Among the several high-profile targets that were attacked was the headquarters of the Basij, a paramilitary militia under the command of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which serves as the shock troops to quell internal unrest and protest movements.

הצהרת דובר צה"ל: "כך נראות המפקדות והנכסים של המשטר האיראני שהותקפו בטהראן"

לכל הפרטים והתיעודים👇https://t.co/uuGxx8IaaB pic.twitter.com/8Np9N6eghq

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) June 23, 2025

Basij members have faced numerous allegations of torture, rape and mutilation as part of their repression of movements like the Mahsa Amini protests in 2022.

In a Tuesday morning statement, the Israeli government confirmed that the IDF’s strikes killed “hundreds of militants from the Basij, the terrorist regime's instrument of repression, and eliminated an additional senior nuclear scientist.”

Iranian state television said on Tuesday that an overnight strike killed nuclear scientist Mohammad Reza Seddighi Saber in northern Iran, hours before U.S. President Donald Trump declared a ceasefire.

Another target was the headquarters of the IRGC’s “Sayyed al-Shuhada” unit, responsible for safeguarding and protecting the regime’s security assets in the Tehran area.

An additional strike hit the entrance area of the notorious Evin Prison, another “symbol of oppression for the Iranian people,” according to Defrin.

“Individuals defined as enemies of the regime were held in the prison, many of whom were subjected to severe torture. In this prison complex, intelligence operations against the State of Israel, including counter-espionage, were carried out. The strike was carried out in a precise manner to mitigate harm to civilians imprisoned within the prison to the greatest extent possible,” he explained.

Nevertheless, this particular strike drew sharp criticism from French President Emmanuel Macron, who said it was unconnected to the nuclear program and endangered civilians.

For all the brave souls who experienced the terror of the IRGC's Thar-allah HQ. https://t.co/sfwQs18ulJ pic.twitter.com/f4MsjPW9kn

— Arash Behgoo (@ArashBehgoo) June 23, 2025

Israel also struck near the destroyed nuclear site of Fordow on Monday. “We struck the access routes… to prevent regime forces from reaching the area,” according to Defrin.

Other targets hit by the Israeli Air Force on Monday included the Alborz Corps, “responsible for the security of several cities in the Tehran District,” the Intelligence and General Security Police under the Internal Security Forces, “which also forms part of (the) regime's military forces,” and the “Thar-Allah” command center, another instrument for repression which is also part of the IRGC.

חיל האוויר השלים גל תקיפות במערב איראן: הותקפו תשתיות צבאיות תת-קרקעיות לאחסון טילים ומשגרי טילים

מטוסי קרב השלימו בשעות האחרונות גל תקיפות במערב איראן, בהכוונה מודיעינית מדויקת של אמ"ן.
במסגרת התקיפות, הותקפו תשתיות צבאיות תת-קרקעיות ששימשו את משמרות המהפכה לאחסון טילים ומשגרי… pic.twitter.com/0D5NBjLOUq

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) June 23, 2025

“These command centers have a significant military effect, and additionally, they impact the regime's ability to impose control. Striking these military targets harms the Iranian regime's military capabilities,” the IDF stated.

Additionally, the IDF also struck more “traditional” military targets, including missile and radar production sites, as well as storage facilities for missiles and drones, both above and below the ground.

Finally, maybe the most symbolic target that was possibly hit during Tuesday's attack was the famous "doomsday clock" in central Tehran, which counted down the years toward Israel's destruction in 2040, as predicted by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

The digital clock was unveiled in Tehran’s Palestine Square in 2017, showing a fist with the colors of the Palestinian flag punching through an Israeli flag and claiming, at the time of its purported destruction, that there were 5,569 days left for Israel.

Iranian sources later claimed that the clock was not destroyed in the airstrikes.