The IDF has released footage showing an airstrike against a group of Iranian soldiers operating an air defence system, as well as a strike on a Russian-made Mi-17 helicopter used by the Iranian army.
Posting the two videos on X, the IDF wrote: “The Air Force continues to strike at the Iranian regime's aerial capabilities: Iranian soldiers who operated air defence systems against Air Force aircraft have been neutralised.”
In the black-and-white footage, large explosions can be seen as the base comes under bombardment.
חיל האוויר ממשיך לפגוע ביכולות האוויריות של המשטר האיראני: סוכלו חיילים איראנים שהפעילו מערכות הגנה אווירית נגד מטוסי חיל האוויר pic.twitter.com/f6hg6FV5at
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) March 4, 2026
As the war entered its fifth day, US President Trump claimed that Iran’s air defences were “gone”.
Speaking at the White House on Tuesday, Trump told reporters: “We've had a very powerful impact. Virtually everything they had has been knocked out now. Their missile count is going down.”
Echoing Trump’s statement, Admiral Brad Cooper, head of the US Central Command (Centcom), the command responsible for operations in the Middle East, confirmed on Tuesday that Iran’s air defences had been “severely degraded”.
He also claimed that 17 Iranian warships had been destroyed and that there were now no regime ships operational in the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial shipping lane which the regime has effectively closed with threats of attacks on commercial vessels.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon said it had eliminated the entirety of Iran’s senior leadership, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Also among the dead are Major General Abdol Rahim Mousavi, chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces and formerly commander-in-chief of the Iranian Army, IRGC leader Mohammad Pakpour, Ali Shamkhani, a senior adviser to Khamenei, Defence Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh, and Mohammad Shirazi, who served as the head of the military office.
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