The Iranian regime hasn’t built shelters to protect citizens from Israeli airstrikes for one terrifying reason, it has been claimed. The latest conflict between the two nations began when Israel launched an assault on Iran’s top military leaders, uranium enrichment sites and nuclear scientists that it said was necessary to prevent its longtime adversary from getting any closer to building an atomic weapon.

A string of retaliations from both sides have followed, which analysts say have demonstrated Israel’s considerable military superiority. Israel also has an array of measures in place to protect its citizens at home, including sophisticated early warning systems, its famous multi-layered air defence system, and bunkers incase strikes manage to make it through. But, speaking to the BBC’s Global News Podcast, an Iranian journalist speaking on condition of anonymity said the same can’t be said of those living under Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s rule.

“In this society, going to the shelters when there is a jet fighting or looming [airstrike] around it indicates you’re chicken-hearted,” they said, as per the New York Post.

“So you should [be] brave and brace for the bombardments and enjoy martyrdom.”

Iran fired a new wave of missile attacks on Israel early Monday, killing at least five people, while Israel claimed it had achieved air superiority over Tehran and could fly over the Iranian capital without facing major threats.

On the fourth day of the conflict, the Israeli military said it had destroyed more than 120 surface-to-surface missile launchers in central Iran, a third of the country’s total. It also said fighter jets had struck 10 command centres in Tehran belonging to Iran’s Quds Force, an elite arm of its Revolutionary Guard that conducts military and intelligence operations outside Iran.

Military spokesperson Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said: “At this time, we can say that we have achieved full aerial superiority over Tehran’s skies.” He said Israeli strikes “amount to a deep and comprehensive blow to the Iranian threat.”

Iran, meanwhile, announced it had launched some 100 missiles and vowed further retaliation for sweeping attacks on its military and nuclear infrastructure that have killed at least 224 people in the country since Friday.

One missile fell near the American consulate in Tel Aviv, with its blast waves causing minor damage, US Ambassador Mike Huckabee said on X. He added that no American personnel were injured.

Israel said so far 24 people have been killed and more than 500 injured as Iran launched more than 370 missiles and hundreds of drones, as per AP.

Iran maintains that its nuclear program is peaceful, and the U.S. and others have assessed that Tehran has not pursued a nuclear weapon since 2003. But the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has repeatedly warned that the country has enough enriched uranium to make several nuclear bombs if it chooses to do so.