JERUSALEM (VINnews) — The network Iran International reported that during Sunday night, several checkpoints of Iranian security forces were attacked across Tehran, some of them located beneath major bridges in the city.

According to the report, the strikes targeted security checkpoints on key routes in the capital, including the area around Enghelab Square in central Tehran, Azadi Square in western Tehran, as well as major intersections along primary highways. It was also reported that some of the targeted checkpoints were positioned beneath bridges and at central inspection points operated by security forces.

Iran researcher Orit Perlov from the Institute for National Security Studies wrote on social media that during the night checkpoints in Tehran were hit in the Amirabad and Yousefabad areas. According to her, the attacks were carried out using drones. She added that the regime’s air-defense systems attempted to intercept the aircraft but failed to shoot them down.

In another post, Perlov noted that footage circulating online showed explosions and fires in western Tehran, near the highway leading to Karaj, one of the largest cities close to the capital. According to the reports, a powerful explosion was heard in the area and was also felt in nearby neighborhoods in the western part of the city.

At the same time, a Persian-language social media account identified with the Mossad published a message directed at citizens in Iran: “The final battle for you will begin soon — we are with you, in the skies, on the ground, and in our hearts.”

Perlov also addressed the communications situation inside Iran, arguing that if the United States and Israel expect the Iranian public to play a role in overthrowing the regime, they must enable access to the internet. According to her, due to communication blockages, the main remaining channel of contact between citizens is the comments section of the Fars News Agency.

Meanwhile, a senior military official said yesterday that the Israel Defense Forces assesses that at the current stage of the campaign the effort is focused on systematically striking the power centers of the Iranian regime, including staffed headquarters, central and operational command centers, command-and-control hubs, Basij sites, and other repression forces of the regime.

“From these repression forces, the Basij police went out on a campaign of killing and suppressing protesters during the significant wave of demonstrations in early January,” the official said.

In other regional developments, dozens of Iranian citizens crossed the border on Sunday into the Kurdish region in northern Iraq in order to buy cheaper food, gain access to the internet, contact family members, and also look for work. The Iranians who crossed to the Iraqi side of the border told reporters from Associated Press that food prices have surged over the past two weeks.

Journalists from the Associated Press who attempted to interview some of the Iranians crossing to the Iraqi side of the border encountered suspicion. The interviewees asked to remain anonymous, saying they feared harm from Iran’s intelligence services, which they claim monitor anyone who speaks with the media.

Many Iranians are crossing the border to purchase Iraqi SIM cards so they can call their family members. In the market on the Iraqi side of the border, Iranians are buying rice and cooking oil, whose prices in Iran have surged since the beginning of the war.

Another woman, who arrived at the border from western Iran, said she was on her way to the Kurdish region of Iraq to seek assistance from distant relatives living there.

According to her: “The war has made the situation worse. Everything is more expensive, and I have no way to feed my grandchildren. I feel helpless, but the children are hungry and I must do my best for them.”