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Iran Guards say targeted Israeli bases, Defence Ministry in new wave of attacks

March 01, 2026 6 min read International Relations Internal Security GS Paper 2 (International Relations) GS Paper 3 (Internal Security)
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What Happened

  • 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.

Static Topic Bridges

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 structure includes: the IRGC Ground Forces, IRGC Navy (separate from the regular Navy and controlling strategic operations in the Persian Gulf), IRGC Aerospace Force (controls Iran's ballistic missiles and drone arsenal), the Basij (internal paramilitary militia, estimated 11 million nominal members), and the Quds Force (external operations, proxy management, and intelligence).

Under normal conditions, IRGC aerospace forces control Iran's entire ballistic missile programme — all Iranian missiles are under IRGC, not regular army, command. The February 28, 2026 retaliatory strikes and the subsequent new wave were all IRGC-directed operations.

  • The IRGC Quds Force maintains Iran's "Axis of Resistance" — its network of proxy groups: Hezbollah (Lebanon), Hamas (Gaza), Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Houthi forces (Yemen), Kata'ib Hezbollah and other Shia militias (Iraq).
  • The IRGC Aerospace Force operates Iran's ballistic missile fleet, including the Shahab-3 (1,300 km range), Emad (1,700 km range), Khorramshahr (2,000+ km range), and the Fattah hypersonic missile (claimed mach 13–15).
  • The IRGC is designated a terrorist organization by the US, EU, UK, Canada, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and several other nations.
  • Khamenei's death creates a command authority vacuum: the IRGC was directly accountable to the Supreme Leader. It now operates under the Provisional Leadership Council, whose authority over the IRGC is constitutionally unclear.

Connection to this news: 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:

Distinction: Parties to a conflict must at all times distinguish between civilians and civilian objects on the one hand and combatants and military objectives on the other. Only military objectives may be attacked.

Proportionality: Attacks must not cause civilian harm that would be excessive in relation to the anticipated military advantage gained.

Precaution: Parties must take all feasible precautions to avoid or minimize civilian casualties.

When the IRGC explicitly targeted Israeli military bases and the Defence Ministry, it was invoking the principle of distinction — these are legitimate military targets under IHL. However, when missiles miss their targets and strike civilian areas (as happened in the Tel Aviv area killing a civilian), the proportionality and precaution principles become relevant.

  • The four Geneva Conventions were adopted in August 1949; India is a signatory.
  • Additional Protocol I (1977) elaborates on the principles of distinction and proportionality for international armed conflicts.
  • "Perfidy" — feigning civilian status to attack — is prohibited under IHL; Iran's stated policy of targeting military infrastructure avoids this charge.
  • The US-Israeli strikes that killed Khamenei are themselves subject to IHL scrutiny: targeting a head of state in wartime is governed by the Hague Regulations (1907), which prohibit "treacherous killing" but permit targeting enemy command-and-control.

Connection to this news: 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 key components: Hezbollah (Lebanon) — the most powerful non-state military force in the world, with approximately 150,000 rockets and missiles; Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (Gaza); Houthi forces (Yemen) — which have disrupted Red Sea shipping with anti-ship missiles and drones; Kata'ib Hezbollah and other Shia militias (Iraq) — which have attacked US forces; and Hashd al-Sha'bi (Popular Mobilization Forces, Iraq) — officially part of Iraq's security forces but with deep IRGC ties.

  • Hezbollah is estimated to have more rockets and missiles than most nation-states and has been significantly weakened in the 2024–2025 Israel-Hezbollah war, but retains substantial capability.
  • Iran's proxy strategy is designed to create "strategic depth" — fighting adversaries far from Iranian territory and exhausting their resources before a direct confrontation.
  • The killing of Khamenei and the direct strikes on Iran represent a collapse of this proxy deterrence logic: Iran's own territory and leadership are now being targeted directly.
  • With the Quds Force's external proxy management capabilities disrupted, the "Axis of Resistance" network's future cohesion is uncertain.

Connection to this news: 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.

Key Facts & Data

  • 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