Multiple Iranian cities experienced intense military strikes and explosions between March 9 and 12, according to opposition and citizen media networks reporting severe damage to IRGC bases and critical infrastructure.
Extensive military strikes, described by opposition media as joint Israeli and American attacks, hit numerous military and industrial targets across Iran from March 9 to March 12. Footage circulating on the citizen-journalism aggregator Vahid Online and the opposition-aligned Iran International shows active air defenses, massive plumes of smoke, and low-flying fighter jets across at least a dozen provinces.
According to Iran International, the strikes devastated the IRGC headquarters in Fardis, Alborz province. The network also reported an explosion at the Imam Sadegh IRGC base in Bushehr on March 12, a facility that commands all provincial IRGC and Basij units. In Bandar Abbas, attacks destroyed an Air Force radar and targeted the Bahonar pier and the local airbase. Furthermore, airstrikes hit Saeran, the Shiraz Electronics Industries, on March 9, with jets reportedly still flying over the area hours later.
The capital faced significant disruption. Vahid Online shared footage of air defenses firing in central Tehran on the evening of March 11. Iran International noted the sound of Israeli drones over the capital that same day, stating government media confirmed attacks on local checkpoints. The network accused the Islamic Republic of widespread internet blackouts to block the free flow of information in war conditions following explosions in eastern Tehran. Meanwhile, Vahid Online captured the sound of a fighter jet and an explosion in Isfahan early on March 12, following an earlier report from Iran International claiming Isfahan's air defenses fired aimlessly into empty skies on March 9.
The cascading violence impacted other critical infrastructure, with white smoke rising near the Abadan refinery and explosions reported in military positions in Ahvaz, where residents felt trembling houses and smelled gunpowder. These unprecedented military escalations in Iran unfold amid broader regional instability, which has concurrently seen extreme currency volatility in neighboring Afghanistan's markets, with the Afghani fluctuating violently against the US dollar and Pakistani Rupee driven by high-volume speculative trading.
Iran International consistently frames the events as joint Israeli and American strikes against the Islamic Republic, adopting a clear wartime posture and utilizing highly charged terminology. Vahid Online serves primarily to aggregate user-submitted visual evidence with minimal editorializing. The provided background context regarding Afghan currency fluctuations was integrated to highlight concurrent regional instability without drawing direct causal links.