True Promise III: Iran launches a fresh wave of missile, drone strikes on Zionist entity

This latest round of the large-scale military operation began around 11:45 a.m. local time on Saturday, with videos circulating on social media showing missiles striking their intended targets.

The unprecedented retaliatory operation is being carried out under the code name “Ya Ali ibn Abi Talib,” coinciding with the blessed occasion of Eid al-Ghadir.

Soon after the missiles and drones were launched, the IRGC’s public relations department issued a statement announcing the launch of a new wave of its large-scale missile and drone operation.

The statement noted that the aerospace division of the IRGC had initiated this fresh phase of the operation as a direct response to renewed aggression by the Zionist regime.

The primary focus of this new round of ‘Operation True Promise III’ is reportedly the occupied port city of Haifa and its surroundings, home to several critical military and industrial facilities of the regime.

The strikes have so far targeted a series of strategic Israeli military and industrial sites, including oil refineries and electricity grids in Haifa, where fires reportedly broke out as a result.

One of the videos showed a massive fire breaking out at the Haifa oil refinery upon the impact of a barrage of Iranian missiles, which illuminated the night sky across the occupied territories.

Images showed a massive blaze at the Haifa oil refinery, with thick black smoke billowing into the sky, with preliminary reports suggesting that the ensuing blaze is emitting toxic chemicals into the air.

In the northern occupied territories, missile sirens sounded in the Upper Galilee and Western Galilee regions, as well as in the city of Nazareth and its surrounding areas, and the city of Afula.

According to Israeli media reports, Iranian precision-guided missiles struck the regime’s vital electricity infrastructure, making it dysfunctional.

The fresh attacks caused widespread disruption in the power distribution network in the central regions of the occupied territories and disabled part of the regime's critical infrastructure.

The massive power outage has been reported in several Zionist settlements in Galilee in northern occupied Palestine amid the Iranian retaliatory operation.

Some Hebrew media reports said ammonia tanks in Haifa were also successfully targeted by missiles, with fire and plumes of smoke noticed in several areas, located in northern occupied Palestine.

Some media reports have described tonight's attack by Iran as the "largest missile attack" ever carried out by the Iranian armed forces against the occupied territories.

Before the fresh wave of the operation kicked off, Iranian armed forces issued a stern warning to Israeli military pilots, urging them to surrender without firing a shot in order to land their jets safely.

"Protect your life. We are true to our promise," the statement added.

An informed source was quoted as saying by Fars News Agency that Iran used Emad, Qadr, and Kheibar Shekan missiles in the latest attack on Haifa and Tel Aviv.

This retaliatory operation followed an Israeli aggression on Iran that took place in the wee hours of Friday morning and resulted in the assassinations of high-ranking Iranian military commanders, nuclear scientists, and civilians, including children and women.

Among those martyred were Major General Mohammad Bagheri, Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces; IRGC Commander-in-Chief Hossein Salami; Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, head of the IRGC Aerospace Division; and senior IRGC commander General Gholam Ali Rashid.

Nuclear scientists Dr. Fereydoon Abbasi, Dr. Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi, and Dr. Abdolhamid Minoucher were also martyred in separate attacks.

Before the True Promise III operation was launched on Friday, Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, said the Zionist regime made a "big mistake, a grave error" by targeting civilian areas across Iran and warned that the consequences will "ruin them."

"The Iranian nation will not overlook the blood of its precious martyrs and will not ignore the aggression against its sky," he asserted in a televised message.

Iranian officials have held the United States equally responsible for the latest Zionist aggression against the Islamic Republic, which was even confirmed by US President Donald Trump.

Speaking to CNN, Trump said he "of course" supports the Israeli regime and described the strikes as "a very successful attack," while warning Iran to return to nuclear negotiations.

In a report published on Friday, the Middle East Eye website said the US quietly delivered hundreds of advanced laser-guided missiles to the Israeli regime, knowing that they would be used against Iran.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, in a phone call with EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas on Saturday, said the US president’s messages and statements proved that Israel’s hostile measures against Iran were the result of Washington’s direct support for the regime.