IRGC, Basij positions hit by drones in Tehran as strikes intensify across Iran

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Several powerful explosions were heard across the Iranian capital Tehran late Wednesday as drone attacks reportedly targeted security positions linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), according to Iranian media and officials.

The blasts were reported mainly in eastern neighborhoods of Tehran, though authorities have yet to disclose the exact locations that were struck.

State-affiliated media attributed the explosions to a large number of drones attacking the city since Wednesday evening, adding that Iranian air defenses had shot down two Israeli drones.

According to circulating information, the primary targets were IRGC and police bases and checkpoints inside Tehran.

Fars News Agency, close to the IRGC, quoted a source saying that drone strikes hit several Basij checkpoints in Districts 1, 14, 15, and 16 of Tehran, adding that more than ten Basij members were killed.

Of note, the Basij is a large volunteer paramilitary group in Iran that serves as one of the five branches of the IRGC. Some members of the Basij are armed, and since the start of the Iran-Israel-US war in late February, they have been responsible for security and monitoring in Tehran.

In addition to the drone attacks, aircraft and missile strikes on Tehran continued on Wednesday, targeting neighborhoods north and west of the capital, including Jannat Abad, Qolhak, Moein, and Niavaran. The Imam Hossein Military University northeast of Tehran, which has been repeatedly bombarded since the start of the war, was also struck again.

The Israeli military said its airstrikes on Tehran followed the identification of IRGC forces and military infrastructure in the city, adding that its aircraft struck those targets shortly after they were located.

Beyond Tehran, military bases, installations and refineries across Iran were targeted on Wednesday.

Outside the city of Karaj, west of the Iranian capital, an airstrike hit a police checkpoint.

Meanwhile, in the border areas around the city of Saravan in Sistan and Baluchestan province in southeast Iran, several IRGC bases were struck, and two naval bases in the nearby port city of Chabahar were also attacked.

In the port of Mahshahr in southwestern Iran’s Khuzestan province, a military base was targeted, and in the city of Abadan in the same province, two oil refineries were attacked on Wednesday.

Similarly, Iranian army naval bases were targeted in the port city of Bushehr on Iran’s southwestern coast, while in central Iran’s city of Isfahan, an army air defense center was hit. In southwestern Iran’s Fars province near Shiraz, two military bases were also bombarded.

The Iranian government on Wednesday accused the US and Israel of targeting non-military sites in the country. According to statistics released by the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS), some 21,720 civilian sites have been struck across the country, including 160 health centers, as well as several schools and sports stadiums.