Tel Aviv [Israel], March 29 (ANI): The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) on Sunday said it carried out a 'wide-scale wave of strikes' targeting the Iranian military infrastructure in the 'heart' of Tehran.

In a post on X, the IDF said the operation targeted multiple sites linked to the 'Iranian terror regime', including dozens of weapons storage and production facilities.

https://x.com/IDF/status/2038123759295480177

According to the X post, several temporary command centres were also dismantled during the strikes, including locations where commanders were reportedly operating.

The IDF added that ballistic missile production and storage facilities, aerial defence systems, and observation posts were among the targets hit in the operation.

Earlier, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Sunday issued a stern warning that American and Israeli universities in the West Asian region could be considered legitimate targets in retaliation for the US and Israeli strikes on Iranian academic institutions and heritage infrastructure.

In a statement broadcast by Iranian state media Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) on Telegram, the IRGC condemned recent attacks on Iranian universities, including what it described as a bombardment of the University of Science and Technology in Tehran, and accused US-Israeli forces of targeting Iranian educational infrastructure.

'The American-Zionist aggressor forces have targeted Iranian universities for the umpteenth time by bombing the Tehran University of Science and Technology,' the statement read, as quoted by IRIB.

The statement warned that all universities affiliated with the United States and Israel in West Asia are 'legitimate targets' unless specific conditions are met.

The official spokesperson for Iran's Foreign Ministry, Esmaeil Baqaei, in a post on X, accused the United States and Israel of 'deliberately' targeting its academic institutions and scientific infrastructure amid the ongoing conflict in the region, alleging that the US-Israeli military campaign against Iran has 'revealed its true objective' by systematically striking universities, research centres, historical monuments and prominent scientists.

Baqaei described the attacks as an effort to 'cripple our country's scientific foundation and cultural heritage'.

He specifically cited Isfahan University of Technology and the University of Science and Technology in Tehran -- institutions at the heart of Iran's higher education and research ecosystem -- as among those hit during the past 30 days of conflict and also dismissed claims by the US and Israel on countering Iran's nuclear programme and addressing an 'imminent threat' as 'vicious pretexts' intended to conceal what Tehran perceives as a broader strategy to undermine its intellectual and cultural institutions. (ANI)