Defense Minister Israel Katz said Saturday morning that Israel was “entering the decisive stretch” in its campaign in Iran.
The IDF destroyed an Iranian regime site used for space research, along with a central air defense production plant on Friday night, the military said on Saturday.
The latest wave of strikes was part of an ongoing effort to deepen damage to the Iranian regime’s core military systems and capabilities, according to the IDF.
Acting on IDF intelligence, the Israel Air Force (IAF) struck dozens of regime-linked sites across Tehran, including the regime’s main space research center.
The IDF described the center as housing strategic laboratories used for the research and development of military satellites intended for “surveillance, intelligence collection, and directing fire toward targets across the Middle East.”
Israeli jets also targeted several sites used to manufacture air defense systems, the IDF said, including what it called a central production facility. “The strike significantly degrades the Iranian terror regime’s ability to rehabilitate its aerial defense array,” the military stated.
Israeli Air Force fighter jet seen in central Israel, March 10, 2026 (credit: NATI SHOHAT/FLASH90)
According to the military, the operation forms part of what it described as a deeper phase of strikes aimed at degrading the Iranian regime’s central capabilities and foundations.
Israel entering ‘decisive stretch in Iran’
Defense Minister Israel Katz said Saturday morning that Israel was “entering the decisive stretch” in its campaign in Iran.
In remarks made during a security assessment with senior defense officials and cited by Hebrew media, Katz said the campaign against Iran was “escalating” and that Israel was entering a “decisive stretch that will continue for as long as necessary.”
Earlier Saturday, Israel issued an evacuation order for an industrial area located west of the city of Tabriz in Iran, noting that it will “conduct operations in this area in the coming hours.”
On Friday, the IDF said it completed 20 waves of strikes across western and central Iran, targeting over 150 regime sites, including missile sites and launchers, drone facilities, defense systems, and weapons production sites.
Tobias Holcman contributed to this report.