On March 13, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that it had carried out more than 7,600 strikes on Iran. “The IDF assesses that between 4,000 and 5,000 Iranian soldiers and commanders have been killed in Israeli strikes in Iran since the start of the war,” The Times of Israel reported the same day. Simultaneously, Iran has targeted Israel with ballistic missiles and drones, launching an estimated 290 missiles and 500 drones by March 15. On March 16, an Iranian barrage targeted the Jerusalem area, and debris from a missile fell on a home and injured two people.
The Israeli Air Force (IAF) has continued daily strikes on Iran as Israel prepares for at least three more weeks of conflict. “The Israel Defense Forces’ campaign in the joint war with the United States against Iran is proceeding according to plan, and at a faster pace than initially expected, military officials said on Sunday, with strikes on Iran’s defense industries expected to further ramp up alongside ongoing efforts to reduce missile fire on Israel,” The Times of Israel noted on March 16.
The Israeli strikes have focused on several types of targets during Operation Lion’s Roar, the Israeli term for the strikes on Iran that began on February 28. The US calls its role in the same conflict Operation Epic Fury. On March 12, the IDF said that it had targeted the Taleghan compound, which was used to develop key capabilities for developing nuclear weapons.
The IDF has also concentrated on strikes on Iran’s missile and drone program and launchers related to both threats. The Tehran regime has fired large numbers of missiles and drones during the conflict, most of which have targeted its neighboring countries in the Gulf and Israel. On March 12, the Israeli military said that the air force struck Iranian operatives from Iran’s unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) array. “So far, the IDF has dismantled over 250 UAVs across Iran. In addition, many UAV array commanders and operatives responsible for numerous launches toward the State of Israel were eliminated,” the IDF added. By March 13, the IDF said it had also carried out 4,700 strikes on Iran’s missile program.
Another type of target for the Israeli Air Force is checkpoints and roadblocks that the Iranian regime has erected during the war and are controlled by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the IRGC’s Basij internal security forces. The IDF says that “these forces lead the regime’s main repression operations against internal protests, particularly recently, using severe violence, mass arrests, and the use of force against civilian demonstrators.”
The Israeli Air Force also said that it struck a plane used by Iran’s supreme leader on March 16 at Tehran’s Mehrabad International Airport. In addition, the IDF has targeted sites linked to Iran’s space program. On March 14, the Israeli military said it had struck Iran’s primary space research center. Two days later, the Israeli military said it had targeted a site in Tehran linked to an Iranian satellite program.
“The [Israeli] military said the compound was involved in military space projects, including development of the Chamran-1 satellite, which it said was built by the Iranian Defense Ministry’s electronics industries and launched into space in September 2024 by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps,” Ynet reported.
The Israeli military appears to be striking around 150-200 targets a day in Iran. For instance, on the afternoon of March 13, the IDF said it had struck 150 sites over the past day. On March 14, the Israeli military noted that it had struck around 200 sites in the past day.
According to Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies Data Analytics Center, Iran launched 227 waves of attacks on Israel between February 28 and March 15. This has included over 290 ballistic missiles launched at Israel and 500 drones. The report estimated that approximately half of the ballistic missiles have carried cluster munitions, which have caused destruction while striking homes and other civilian areas across Israel. Overall, Iran has fired more missiles and drones at the Gulf countries, targeting the UAE alone with an estimated 309 missiles and 1,600 drones by March 16.
Despite the missile and drone threat, IDF Home Front Command began to loosen some guidelines for the public in certain parts of Israel. In many rural peripheral areas, such as the Jordan Valley and Negev, the Israeli military said that some educational activities and larger public gatherings would be permitted. In addition, the IDF improved its early-warning system to make it more precise, meaning fewer Israelis would needlessly be alerted to possible incoming Iranian missiles.
Reporting from Israel, Seth J. Frantzman is an adjunct fellow at FDD and a contributor to FDD’s Long War Journal. He is the senior Middle East correspondent and analyst at The Jerusalem Post, and author of The October 7 War: Israel's Battle for Security in Gaza (2024).
Tags: IDF, Iran, Israel, Israel Iran, Operation Lion’s Roar
