Missile strike destroys 12,000-seat indoor arena at Tehran’s Azadi complex

Israel’s military said it continued strikes in central Tehran, targeting infrastructure linked to Iran’s ballistic missile system.

In a statement, the military said it hit storage facilities for missiles both above and below ground. One of the targets in Tehran was an underground site used by Iranian authorities to store ballistic missiles, it said.

The military also said it destroyed storage centers for missiles intended to target aircraft.

Azerbaijan has summoned Iran’s ambassador after drone attacks were carried out from the territory of Iran on the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan, the Foreign Ministry said.

The ministry said two people were injured due to the attacks. It condemned the strikes and said Azerbaijan reserves the right to retaliate.

Earlier on Thursday, a source close to the Azerbaijani government told Reuters that missiles and drones flying from the direction of Iran fell on the territory of Nakhchivan International Airport. A fire started as a result of the incident, the source said, adding that an official statement would follow.

Video footage shared by the source showed black smoke rising near the airport terminal, which is about 10 km (6 miles) from the border with Iran.

Iran’s internet blackout has exceeded 120 hours, with connectivity still hovering around 1% of ordinary levels, NetBlocks said on Thursday.

“Meanwhile, an increasingly Orwellian environment is emerging as telcos threaten users who try to connect to the global internet with legal action,” the internet monitoring group said.

Missiles and drones flying from the direction of Iran fell on the territory of the airport in the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan International Airport, a source close to the Azerbaijani government told Reuters.

The airport is located roughly 10 km (6 miles) from the border with Iran.

Iran’s Assembly of Experts is set to hold an emergency session on Thursday to formally announce Mojtaba Khamenei, a son of the late Supreme Leader, as the next leader, despite opposition from some members who warn against “hereditary leadership,” Iran International has learned.

The meeting comes two days after Iran International reported that the Assembly of Experts had chosen Mojtaba Khamenei as the next Supreme Leader under pressure from the Revolutionary Guards.

Two sources from the offices of Assembly of Experts representatives told Iran International that at least eight members will not attend the emergency session on Thursday in protest at what they described as “heavy pressure” from the Revolutionary Guards to impose Mojtaba Khamenei.

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The first emergency meeting of the clerical body to choose a successor to Ali Khamenei was held on Tuesday, but ended prematurely after Israeli airstrikes targeted the Assembly building in the city of Qom.

According to sources, Thursday’s meeting will be held online and managed from a building near the shrine of Fatima Masumeh in Qom. Some representatives and members of the Assembly’s leadership board who live in Qom may attend in person.

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