Tehran, June 18: A major explosion could be heard around 5 a.m. in Tehran Wednesday morning, following other explosions that boomed earlier in the predawn darkness.

Authorities in Iran offered no acknowledgement of the attacks, which has become increasingly common as the Israeli airstrike campaign has intensified since it began on Friday.

At least one strike appeared to target Tehran’s eastern neighborhood of Hakimiyeh, where the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard has an academy.

Traffic stood bumper to bumper on roads to the west and downtown Tehran emptied out, with many shops shuttered as well as the ancient Grand Bazaar. The Bazaar has closed only in times of crisis, such as during the 2022 anti-government protests and the coronavirus pandemic.

Israel has also claimed that it had killed Iran’s Gen. Ali Shadmani, whom Israel described as the country’s most senior remaining military commander.

Shadmani was little known in the country before being appointed last week to a chief-of-staff-like role as head of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters following the killing of his predecessor, Gen. Gholam Ali Rashid, in an Israeli strike.