American media reports that Russia is helping Iran with data on the location of American troops in the Persian Gulf. The White House has tried to downplay this information. For a week now, the fighting in Iran has continued.
For a week now, heavy attacks on Iran have not stopped and the fighting has not lost its intensity. That night was the heaviest in Tehran since the beginning of the war. The Israeli side stated that the attacks were entering the next phase. "In this phase, we will continue to destroy the regime and its military capabilities," said Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir, quoted by German public broadcaster ARD.
Witnesses in Tehran described the deadliest night since the start of the war. Warplanes could be heard continuously. Mehrabad International Airport was attacked, the Iranian news agency Tasnim reported.
Iran's missile stockpile has been significantly reduced
The sustained Israeli and US bombing campaign is clearly already having an effect. US government spokeswoman Caroline Levitt said that Iranian missile attacks had decreased by 90% in a week. In addition, at least 30 ships of the Iranian navy have been destroyed and Iran no longer has a combat-ready fleet.
However, it is not clear how many kamikaze drones Iran still possesses. According to military expert Thomas Wiegold, they are "between ten thousand and several tens of thousands" and could cause enormous damage in the countries of the region, ARD points out.
Does Russia support Iran?
Tehran can clearly count on foreign support: according to media reports, Russia provides the regime with information about warships, combat aircraft, radars, the location and movement of American troops and possible targets in the region, the American television network CNN and the newspaper “Washington Post“ reported, citing their own sources familiar with the reports of the American intelligence services. The information was disseminated by the Associated Press, and ARD specifies that these are photos taken by modern Russian satellites. According to British estimates, the military leadership in Iran has been weakened, but is still holding on. The British Foreign Office believes that the regime in Iran still has the strength to hold on.
The White House does not refute media reports of Russian assistance. In response to a question from Fox News, presidential spokeswoman Caroline Levitt said that whether this really happened, "frankly, it does not matter."
Israel: Iran uses cluster bombs
Israel accuses Iran of using cluster bombs - a weapon that is banned by international convention. Since the beginning of the fighting, the country has used such bombs "multiple times," said Israeli army spokesman Nadav Shoshani. The use of such munitions against civilians is a war crime, he explained.
Tehran does not hide this and even announced that Iranian cluster bombs “cause destruction throughout Israel“. According to Israeli data, the cluster bombs caused relatively little damage, since each individual shrapnel contains a small amount of explosive.
Neither Israel nor Iran have signed the international convention against cluster munitions, which prohibits the use, transfer, production and stockpiling of cluster munitions, ARD recalls.
“New York Times": US may have hit girls' school
But there are serious accusations against Israel and the US as well: UN Human Rights Commissioner Volker Turk demanded a quick and “impartial“ investigation into an attack on a girls' school in southern Iran, which, according to Iranian figures, killed more than 150 people on the first day of the war. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the Pentagon was investigating the incident.
According to information from the “New York Times”, the US may be responsible for the attack: the school was hit when US forces attacked a nearby naval base of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps on Saturday. The publication analyzed satellite images and video footage related to the incident.
Broad interpretations of “unconditional surrender“
Meanwhile, the White House press secretary defined the “unconditional surrender“ of Iran, which US President Donald Trump is demanding. When asked what exactly he meant by this, Levitt replied that this goal will be achieved when Trump concludes “that Iran no longer poses a threat to the United States of America“ and the mission objectives have been “fully realized“. Then Iran will be in a state of unconditional surrender, regardless of whether Tehran recognizes it or not, Levitt said, quoted by ARD.