Iran’s Army says its drone fleet has delivered precision strikes on Israel’s key aerospace and weapons manufacturing industries.

Iran’s Army said in a statement on Tuesday that it successfully launched a series of drone strikes early in the morning.

The attacks targeted Rafael’s weapons industries in Haifa and aerospace facilities near Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv.

The Iranian drones also hit several refueling aircraft stationed at the airport.

Rafael Weapons Industries is a key military technology developer responsible for advanced systems such as the Iron Dome and David’s Sling, according to the statement.

The Rafael logistics and military center had previously been targeted by ballistic missiles launched by the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC).

Over the past 25 days, the Iranian Army conducted multiple operations as part of Operation True Promise 4, which was launched immediately after the US-Israeli joint military aggression against Iran on February 28.

The Army has vowed to continue its operations with determination and remain steadfast in “its sacred mission to defend the country’s “independence and territorial integrity.”

In a fresh wave of retaliatory strikes, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) targeted the Israeli regime’s “secure” intelligence facilities in Tel Aviv.

The IRGC’s Public Relations Department said in a statement on Tuesday that it had carried out the 79th wave of its ongoing retaliatory Operation True Promise 4 against the Israeli and American targets.

Deploying powerful Kheybar Shekan, Emad, and Sejjil missiles alongside IRGC Aerospace Force kamikaze drones, the operation successfully breached the regime’s multi-layered air defense systems, the statement said.

The missiles, it stated, targeted Israel’s intelligence facilities in northern and central Tel Aviv, as well as military commercial and support centers in Ramat Gan and the Negev.

The missiles also hit Israel’s southern military logistics and command headquarters in Beersheba.

The missile strikes triggered widespread panic across Israel and forced the suspension of a Knesset (parliament) session on Tuesday.

“Plumes of thick smoke and fire engulfing the Israeli-occupied territories, while forcing over two million people into shelters, serves as undeniable evidence of Iran’s advanced missile and drone capabilities.”

Iran’s advanced missiles have once again demonstrated that the enemies’ “multi-layered defenses have been rendered ineffective.”

The IRGC further said that Israel’s systematic censorship and the Pentagon’s blackout on images of Iran’s precision strikes against US assets in the region, “expose the profound panic” of the two enemies and their “desperate attempts to conceal and manipulate the truth.'”

Iranian armed forces have been carrying out retaliatory attacks on US military assets in regional countries and on targets in the Israeli-occupied territories since Tel Aviv and Washington launched their joint military aggression against the Islamic republic on February 28.

In the last 25 days, Iranian Armed Forces have delivered a series of devastating strikes on enemy targets, effectively paralyzing the US air defense systems across the region.

• Family of US detainee urged Afghan leader to release him for Eid.
• Afghan top court deems detention sufficient, orders release.
• Coyle, 64, arrested by Afghan authorities in January 2025.
  

KABUL: Afghanistan’s Taliban government announced on Tuesday that it was freeing a US national who had been detained for more than a year.

The foreign ministry said the family of linguist and researcher Dennis Coyle had written to the supreme leader of Afghanistan, requesting his release for Eid.

“The Supreme Court of the Islamic Emirate deemed his period of detention sufficient and decided on his release,” a statement read.

The announcement came after a meeting of Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, US former special envoy to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad, the UAE ambassador to Kabul Saif Mohammed Al-Ketbi, and a member of Coyle’s family.

The UAE facilitated the release, the ministry said, adding that Coyle had been reunited with his family in Kabul on Tuesday.

Coyle, 64, was arrested by the Afghan authorities in January 2025, according to the Foley Foundation, which advocates for the release of Americans taken hostage or arbitrarily detained abroad.

A website set up by his family, freedenniscoyle.com, said he was “legally working to support Afghan communities as an academic researcher” when he was detained.

They said he had been held in “near-solitary conditions, requiring permission even to use the bathroom, and without access to adequate medical care”.

Coyle first travelled to Afghanistan in the early 2000s “to survey Afghanistan’s rich linguistic diversity and help Afghan communities develop resources in their own languages”, they added.

“Throughout his years of service, Dennis maintained a home in Kabul and built deep, meaningful relationships with the Afghan people,” the website read.

“Those who know him speak with profound appreciation for both the man and his work. Dennis has always embraced Afghan culture with genuine warmth – sharing cups of traditional green tea, enjoying dried fruit snacks, and engaging in the kind of heartfelt conversations that bridge cultures.

“His love for the Afghan people isn’t just professional; it’s personal and deeply felt.”

Earlier this month, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States had formally placed Afghanistan on its list of countries engaged in “wrongful detentions”.

The Afghan authorities called that “regrettable” and pointed to talks between the two sides and previous releases with mediators from Qatar.

In 2025, five American citizens were released in what the Taliban authorities said was a “goodwill gesture”.