IRGC Launches New Wave of Attacks on Israeli Military Bases and Defence Ministry
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced a new wave of missile attacks targeting Israeli military bases and the Israeli Defence Ministry building in Tel Aviv.
Israel's emergency service Magen David Adom (MDA) confirmed a woman was killed in the Tel Aviv area after Iran fired a barrage of missiles towards Israel.
The IRGC's statement explicitly named the Israeli military infrastructure as targets — Air Force bases, intelligence facilities, and the Defence Ministry — signaling a shift from civilian impact (which Iran claims to avoid) to direct military infrastructure targeting.
The new wave followed Iran's initial retaliatory strikes launched after Khamenei's killing and represented an escalation in targeting precision and intent.
Iron Dome, David's Sling, and Arrow interceptors were deployed to counter the incoming barrage, with partial success.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC): Structure, Doctrine, and External Operations
The IRGC is Iran's most powerful military institution, established by Ayatollah Khomeini in April 1979 to protect the Islamic Revolution from both internal and external threats. Unlike the regular Iranian Army (Artesh), which is a conventional military force, the IRGC is accountable directly to the Office of the Supreme Leader — not the elected government — and combines military, paramilitary, intelligence, and economic functions.
The IRGC's ability to continue coordinated, precision-targeted missile strikes immediately after losing its supreme commander suggests it has sufficient institutional cohesion and pre-planned operational frameworks to operate autonomously in the short term — a significant capability the international community must account for.
Laws of Armed Conflict: Distinction, Proportionality, and Military Targets
International Humanitarian Law (IHL), codified in the four Geneva Conventions (1949) and their Additional Protocols (1977), governs the conduct of warfare. The core principles relevant to Iran's attacks are:
The IRGC's explicit identification of Israeli military targets in its attack announcement reflects an awareness of IHL distinctions and an attempt to frame the attacks as legitimate warfare rather than terrorism — significant for Iran's diplomatic and legal positioning.
Iran's "Axis of Resistance": Proxy Network and Regional Strategy
Iran's strategic doctrine for regional power projection does not rely primarily on direct military confrontation with superior adversaries (the US and Israel). Instead, Iran has built, funded, and armed a network of non-state proxy groups across the region — the self-described "Axis of Resistance" — which can open multiple fronts simultaneously, imposing costs on adversaries while maintaining plausible distance from direct Iranian state involvement.
The IRGC's new wave of direct strikes on Israel represents Iran abandoning its traditional proxy-first doctrine in favour of direct confrontation — a significant strategic shift driven by the extreme provocation of Khamenei's killing.
- A woman was killed in the Tel Aviv area in Iran's new wave of missile attacks on Israeli targets
- IRGC explicitly named Israeli Air Force bases and the Israeli Defence Ministry building as targets
- IRGC was established April 1979 by Khomeini; operates parallel to Iran's regular Army (Artesh)
- IRGC Aerospace Force controls all of Iran's ballistic missiles — separate from regular military
- Iran's ballistic missile range: Shahab-3 (1,300 km), Emad (1,700 km), Khorramshahr (2,000+ km), Fattah hypersonic (claimed mach 13–15)
- IRGC designated terrorist organization by US, EU, UK, Canada, Australia, Saudi Arabia, and others
- Iran's "Axis of Resistance" includes Hezbollah, Hamas, PIJ, Houthis, and Iraqi Shia militias
- Hezbollah estimated stockpile: ~150,000 rockets and missiles
- The four Geneva Conventions (1949) and Additional Protocols (1977) govern laws of armed conflict
- Magen David Adom (MDA) is Israel's equivalent of the Red Cross / national emergency medical services