Amid escalating clashes, reports indicate that checkpoints belonging to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Basij militia were targeted in drone attacks in several cities across Iran; attacks that, according to regime sources and field reports, have left significant casualties among security forces.
Fars News Agency, which is affiliated with the IRGC, reported that preliminary investigations indicate Israeli drones were launched to target checkpoints in Tehran. According to the report, in attacks on the evening of Wednesday, March 11, in several parts of the capital, at least 10 security and Basij forces stationed at checkpoints were killed. According to the outlet, checkpoints in District 14 (Mahallati Highway), District 15 (in front of Hashemabad gas station), District 16 (Fadaiyan Eslam Street), and District one (the end of Artesh Boulevard) were among the locations directly targeted.
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Field reports also indicate continued attacks on checkpoints in Karaj. According to one witness, several checkpoints in the city were targeted and the sound of drones flying overhead was heard in the sky. Reports have also emerged about checkpoints being targeted in Fardis, a city in Karaj County.
In Tehran as well, residents reported drones flying over the areas of Velenjak, Niavaran, and Dorous. Witnesses say air defense systems and security patrols were activated to counter the drones but were unable to shoot them down. At the same time, reports indicate that in some locations, including near Tajrish Square, forces stationed at checkpoints temporarily removed the barriers and left the area.
Similar attacks have also been reported in other cities. According to local sources, a Basij checkpoint on Amir Kabir Boulevard in Shiraz was targeted in an attack early Thursday morning. Videos published from the city of Qorveh in Kurdistan Province also show that Basij and IRGC bases in that city were targeted in aerial attacks.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military announced that dozens of its fighter jets, based on precise intelligence, targeted a series of IRGC command centers, internal security bases, Ministry of Intelligence facilities, and military infrastructure in Tehran and other parts of Iran. According to the Israeli military, during these attacks individuals operating in an IRGC command center in Tehran were identified and targeted within seconds after being detected.
According to the statement, the targets included command centers of the IRGC Aerospace Force, a complex at Imam Hossein Military University (an IRGC-affiliated military academy in Tehran), Basij and IRGC bases, and facilities used for the storage and production of ballistic missiles. The Israeli military stated that this operation is part of the current phase of attacks aimed at damaging the operational infrastructure and key capabilities of Iran’s regime.
At the same time, some figures close to the government have also referred to casualties at the checkpoints. For instance, Meysam Motiee, a pro-regime cleric and political figure, announced that in an attack on a checkpoint at the end of Artesh Boulevard in Tehran, four people were killed and about 10 others were wounded.
In response to these developments, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the Speaker of the Majlis (parliament) of Iran’s regime, published a message calling on people to remain present in the streets. Addressing the people of Iran, he wrote: “Your presence in the streets has confused and angered the enemy. This small soldier of yours has three requests from you: the streets, the streets, the streets. Your children in the armed forces are risking their lives to defend Iran—strengthen their position by holding the streets.”
Scattered reports from various cities across Iran indicate that checkpoints, which in recent weeks had been widely deployed in neighborhoods and streets, have become one of the main targets of aerial and drone attacks; a development that regime sources say is intended to reduce the presence of security forces in the streets.
