IDF strikes hundreds of targets in Iran, Lebanon; ‘We have just begun’, says US Central Command

JERUSALEM: The relentless barrage of strikes from the US and Israeli forces continued as Operation Roaring Lion/ Operation Epic Fury targeted multiple sites in Iran and Lebanon. The US-Israel joint strikes are likely to continue with US Central Command Chief Admiral Brad Cooper saying they will not stop.

Israel’s Defence force said that in the past 24 hours, hundreds of fighter jets and aircraft had been striking hundreds of targets simultaneously in Iran and Lebanon. The IDF said that since the start of the operation, the Israeli Air Force has neutralized nearly 300 Iranian missile launchers.

As part of the defensive effort, the Israeli Air Force continued to conduct successive waves of strikes against the Iranian regime’s ballistic missile arrays and air defence systems. The Israeli Air Force said, “As part of the defensive effort, the Israeli Air Force continues to conduct successive waves of strikes against the Iranian regime’s ballistic missile arrays and air defence systems.”

Update from CENTCOM Commander on Operation Epic Fury: pic.twitter.com/epEohq64Vf

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 3, 2026

In the south, Israel also continued its operation targeting sites run by the Hezbollah. The IDF said about 60 Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon had been the target of Israeli action. Among the targets struck were weapons storage facilities, missile launchers, command centres, and additional infrastructure belonging to the Hezbollah and Hamas organizations in the Tyre and Sidon areas. IDF claimed that these sites were used by the terrorist organizations to plan and carry out attacks against IDF troops and Israeli civilians.

The IDF further claimed that they had struck what they described a Nuclear Weapons Development Site in Iran. The IDF claimed that the covert ‘Minzadehei’ compound was used by a group of nuclear scientists who operated to develop a key component for nuclear weapons.

“Using intelligence, the IDF tracked the activities at this new location, removing a key component of the Iranian regime’s capability to develop nuclear weapons,” the IDF said.

Meanwhile, Admiral Brad Cooper, the commander of United States Central Command in a briefing said that the US will not stop and that Iran’s ability to hit back was declining rapidly.

“Now, we’re less than 100 hours into this operation, and we’ve already struck nearly 2,000 targets with more than 2,000 munitions. We have severely degraded Iran’s air defences and destroyed hundreds of Iran’s ballistic missiles, launchers, and drones…Thus far, we’ve destroyed 17 Iranian ships, including the most operational Iranian submarine, that now has a hole in its side…Today, there’s not a single Iranian ship underway in the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, or Gulf of Oman. And we will not stop. We will continue to conduct dynamic targeting operations,” he said.

“U.S. Air Forces are doing what they do best: executing a high volume of air strikes right into Iran. Operationally, the two most powerful air forces in the world, the U.S. and Israel, are dominating the skies over the world’s largest state sponsor of terror… And we’ve just begun. But I have the utmost confidence that we, alongside our partners, will absolutely achieve our military objectives,” he added.

The conflict in the Middle East has entered its fourth day following the US and Israeli strikes on Iran that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, along with other key figures in the Persian Gulf country. In retaliation, Tehran has responded with counter-strikes targeting American military bases and other Israeli assets across the region. (ANI)