Israel Asserts Aerial Dominance Over Tehran and Eliminates Iranian Intelligence Chief

The Israeli military has announced that it has achieved “aerial superiority” over Tehran with recent airstrikes that resulted in the deaths of four senior Iranian intelligence officials. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claimed to have significantly weakened Iranian air defenses and missile systems, allowing Israeli planes to operate over Tehran without encountering significant threats. The IDF asserted that Israel now has control over the skies from western Iran to Tehran.

The Israeli military credited “precise intelligence” from the IDF for enabling Israeli Air Force (IAF) fighter jets to target a specific structure in Tehran where multiple senior officials from Iranian intelligence were present. According to the IDF, the strike successfully eliminated Head of the Intelligence Organization Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Mohammad Kazemi, his deputy Mohammad Hassan Mohaqiq, Head of the Quds Force Intelligence Directorate Mohsen Bakri, and his deputy Abu al-Fadl Nikouei.

In a statement released on Monday, the IDF highlighted the successful operation that resulted in the elimination of the four senior Iranian intelligence officials. The Israeli military’s claim of achieving “aerial superiority” over Tehran and neutralizing key figures in Iranian intelligence underscores the escalating tensions between the two nations.

A giant billboard featuring Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps fighters and imagery is seen during an anti-Israel rally in downtown Tehran on June 14, 2025.  (Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Monday’s announcement “marks a significant blow to the Iranian regime’s intelligence apparatus and its ability to carry out terrorist attacks against the State of Israel,” the IDF said. This comes after the IDF said its strikes killed the Head of the Intelligence Directorate in the Iranian Armed Forces General Staff last Friday.

The IDF has destroyed one-third of the Iranian regime’s missile launchers since first launching its large-scale preemptive strike last Thursday, IDF spokesperson, Brigadier General Effie Defrin, said Monday. 

The IAF destroyed more than 20 surface-to-surface missiles Sunday night before they were about to be launched toward the State of Israel, Defrin said. 

Israel’s air force completed several waves of strikes overnight, targeting approximately 100 military targets in Isfahan in central Iran. 

“In these strikes, more than 20 missiles were simultaneously struck, minutes before they were to be launched toward Israel’s home front,” Defrin said. “In one of the strikes, after a missile launch cell was identified in real-time attempting to launch surface-to-surface missiles toward the State of Israel, the IAF eliminated the launch cell and destroyed the missiles.” 

Rescue workers, police and military officers inspect the site where an Iranian missile struck in Bnei Brak, near Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday, June 16, 2025.  (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Meanwhile, Iran fired a new wave of missile attacks on Israel early Monday, triggering air raid sirens across the country. Israeli emergency services reported at least eight killed and dozens more wounded in the fourth day of the conflict.

Powerful explosions, likely from Israel’s defense systems intercepting Iranian missiles, rocked Tel Aviv shortly before dawn, according to the Associated Press. Plumes of black smoke rose into the sky over the major coastal city.

The latest salvo comes after a weekend of escalating tit-for-tat attacks between Israel and Iran that raised fears of a wider, more dangerous regional war.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.