Israeli airstrikes target facilities of Iran’s internal security apparatus

The latest wave of Israeli military airstrikes in Iran The country’s brutal internal security system was dealt a blow and opened the door to a possible coup.

During the attack, Israel “dropped dozens of munitions on Basij and internal security command centers that are under the control of the Iranian terrorist regime,” the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement on Wednesday. “Targeted command centers were used by the Iranian regime to control all of Iran and maintain the regime’s situational assessment.”

From the beginning of Operation Epic FuryThe US has hit nearly 2,000 targets as it conducts a broad military campaign aimed at dismantling the regime’s security apparatus and neutralizing threats. US Central Command Adm. Brad Cooper confirmed the number of targets in a video message.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Basij militia, Iran’s volunteer paramilitary force, were behind the violent crackdown on protesters in January. In a bloody crackdown, regime actors opened fire on crowds and made mass arrests Iranian protestors. Some saw the protests as signs that regime change in Iran was imminent, but that was not the case.

Smoke rises from central Tehran following US and Israeli strikes on the Iranian capital on March 3, 2026. (Getty Images via Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu)

Israeli and US officials have hinted at the possibility of a coup in Iran as both countries target Tehran’s military and security sites.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the launch of Operation Epic Fury, dubbed Operation Rising Lion by Israel, in a video message, saying it was time for Iranians to “break free from the yoke of tyranny.” Similarly, President Dr Donald Trump In a message to the Iranian people on February 28, he said “the time for your freedom is at hand.”

“When we’re done, take your government. It’s yours to take. It may be your only chance for generations,” Trump said.

On February 28, 2026, smoke billows after an explosion in Tehran on March 3, 2026, after Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a joint US-Israeli strike. (via Negar/Middle East Images/AFP Getty Images)

Iranians now have chance to ‘reclaim their freedom’, Israeli minister outlines Iran mission goals

“America is at your side with tremendous power and destructive power. Now is the time to take control of your destiny and look forward to the prosperous and glorious future within your reach. This is the moment for action. Don’t let it pass,” the president added.

said Ali Waez, director of the Iran Project at the International Crisis Group The Wall Street Journal The path to regime change through foreign airstrikes and popular uprisings on the ground is “a bet that does not depend on any clear historical model.” Weiss also warned that the idea “ignores the resilience of established authoritarian systems like the Islamic Republic.”

The IDF said on Monday that Israel had attacked headquarters, bases and regional command centers belonging to the regime’s internal security apparatus.

“These institutions were responsible, among other things, for suppressing demonstrations against the regime through violent measures and civilian arrests,” the IDF said.

A group of men inspect the remains of a police station that was hit during a US-Israeli military operation in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (Wahid Salemi/AP)

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It is not clear who will lead Iran after the country’s supreme leader, the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Killed on the first day of the operation. Since then, Israel and the US have made it clear that the leaders of the government elected to replace him will be targets. Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz warned on Wednesday that whoever is chosen to replace Khamenei will be considered a “target for elimination” if they continue to threaten Israel, the US and regional allies.

While the assassination of key leaders may not trigger an uprising, since the regime has a monopoly on weapons in most of Iran, the WSJ reported that Basij militants still patrol the streets.

Fox News Digital’s Morgan Phillips and Efrat Lacher contributed to this report.

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