TEHRAN — Loud explosions and fighter jets could be heard over Tehran on Thursday, AFP journalists in the Iranian capital said, after Israel said it had launched a new wave of strikes.

 

Local media also reported a series of blasts in Tehran and its western outskirts.

 

An AFP journalist saw smoke rising from southern Tehran.

 

The Fars news agency reported an explosion in western Tehran, while the Shargh and Iran papers reported at least one explosion in Karaj a neighbouring city to the west.

 

The blasts came shortly after the Israeli military said it had begun "a large-scale wave of strikes against infrastructure" in the Iranian capital.

 

Israel and the United States have been bombing Iran since launching a massive wave of strikes on Saturday.