Israeli strikes have hit the entrance to Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison, as well as the clock counting down to the destruction of Israel, according to reports from Iran.
Defence Minister Israel Katz said the targets also included the headquarters of the Basij, a street militia run by the brutal Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
“The IDF is currently striking with unprecedented force regime targets and governmental repression bodies in the heart of Tehran, including the Basij headquarters, the Evin Prison for political prisoners and regime opponents, the ‘Destruction of Israel’ clock in Palestine Square, the internal security headquarters of the Revolutionary Guards, the ideology headquarters, and other regime targets,” Katz said in statement.
Evin Prison, repeatedly condemned by human rights organisations and under US and EU sanctions, houses some of Iran’s most prominent political dissidents and anti-regime activists. According to early reports there were no casualties resulting from the strike, which was apparently intended to allow the detainees to escape.
The clock in Palestine Square, installed by the IRGC in 2017, was supposed to count down to 2040, the year by which Israel would be destroyed – a reference to comments made by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The Basij forces have been widely accused of beatings, arbitrary arrests and extrajudicial killings. It is one of the regime’s key instruments for enforcing ideological conformity and played a central role in suppressing anti-government protests, including the 2022 “Women Life Freedom” uprising sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini.
