Israel has carried out its heaviest bombing of Tehran since the start of hostilities, striking Evin prison—a powerful symbol of the Islamic Republic’s internal repression.
The attack came just a day after the United States entered the conflict, prompting renewed Iranian threats of retaliation, though no direct action against American forces had materialised.
Footage aired by Iran’s IRIB state broadcaster showed rescue workers combing through the wreckage of the northern Tehran prison, once notorious for housing political prisoners, foreign detainees, and executions following the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Emergency workers were seen carrying injured individuals on stretchers.
Iran’s judiciary news outlet, Mizan, said urgent measures were underway to protect the health and safety of inmates.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar posted a video on X, formerly Twitter, showing an explosion at a building marked as an entrance to the prison. “Viva la libertad!” he wrote. While the video could not be independently verified, other videos showing the aftermath of the strike were confirmed as authentic.
Israel’s military also claimed responsibility for strikes on Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) command centres in Tehran, targeting what it described as “government repression bodies”.
“The IDF is currently striking, with unprecedented force, regime targets and governmental repression bodies in the heart of Tehran,” said Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz in a statement.
Evin prison, long a potent symbol of state oppression, has played a central role in the detention and execution of political dissidents, especially during times of national unrest. Its bombing is a significant escalation in Israel’s military campaign.
Iranian media gave conflicting accounts of the scale of the damage. The semi-official Tasnim news agency reported a strike on an electricity feeder station in the Evin neighbourhood. Tavanir, Iran’s national power company, confirmed that parts of Tehran experienced power cuts. Meanwhile, Iran’s student news network claimed that Shahid Beheshti University had been hit, a report the university’s public relations office denied.
Despite issuing repeated threats, Tehran has yet to respond meaningfully to the United States’ entry into the war. On Sunday morning, US forces dropped 30,000-pound bunker-busting bombs on Iran’s underground nuclear facilities. President Donald Trump later hinted at possible regime change in Tehran.
“It’s not politically correct to use the term, ‘Regime Change,’ but if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn’t there be a Regime change??? MIGA!!!” Trump wrote on social media.
Iran has fired missiles at Israel but has refrained from targeting American bases or disrupting oil shipments near the Strait of Hormuz—through which nearly 20% of the world’s oil flows.
“Mr Trump, the gambler, you may start this war, but we will be the ones to end it,” said Ebrahim Zolfaqari, spokesperson for Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya central military command, in a recorded statement delivered in English.
Amid the conflict, five individuals familiar with Iranian government deliberations said the process of selecting a successor to 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has intensified. The two leading candidates are Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba, 56, and Hassan Khomeini, 53, the reformist-aligned grandson of the Islamic Republic’s founder.
The younger Khomeini, respected across the political spectrum because of his lineage, has emerged as a potentially unifying figure. Observers suggest his candidacy may be aimed at placating both domestic reformists and international critics, in contrast to Mojtaba Khamenei, who is seen as a hardliner.
Despite the dramatic developments, global oil markets showed relative calm. On Monday, the first trading day after the US joined the war, Brent crude prices briefly rose above $80 a barrel before falling to $76.79—down 22 cents, or 0.29%.
Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank, said: “It’s worth noting that the current geopolitical risk premium—now exceeding \$10 per barrel—cannot be sustained for long without a tangible supply disruption.”
Iranian lawmakers have reportedly debated closing the Strait of Hormuz, but no decision has been made. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio dismissed the threat: “It’s economic suicide for them if they do it. And we retain options to deal with that.”
Israel’s military campaign, launched on 13 June with a surprise strike that killed multiple senior Iranian commanders, has encountered minimal resistance. Iranian officials claimed that more than 400 people—mostly civilians—have been killed since the start of Israel’s offensive. Israel, in turn, said Iranian missile attacks have killed 24 Israelis and injured hundreds, marking the first time such a number of Iranian missiles have breached Israeli defences.
On Monday, Israeli defences intercepted another missile launched from Iran, with air raid sirens sounding across Tel Aviv and central Israel overnight.
Iran’s capacity for counterattack has been significantly diminished, following Israel’s recent military defeat of Hezbollah in Lebanon and the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad—both seen as key allies of Tehran.
While the war continues to escalate, Iran’s strongest potential leverage—disrupting global oil supply—remains unused, and its options for meaningful retaliation against the United States appear increasingly limited.
Boluwatife Enome
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