JERUSALEM, March 12, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Israel's military said Thursday it had struck checkpoints set up in Tehran by the Basij paramilitary force of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, as part of efforts to undermine control by the authorities.

"Over the past day, the Israeli Air Force, acting on (military) intelligence, has targeted the Basij roadblocks and operatives," the army said in a statement.

"These forces led the regime's primary efforts to suppress internal protests, particularly in recent months, employing severe violence, mass arrests, and the use of force against civilian demonstrators," it added.

Iran was rocked by unprecedented protests against the clerical establishment that peaked in January.

They were put down with a crackdown which according to rights groups left thousands of people dead and tens of thousands arrested.

Tehran residents have told AFP that Revolutionary Guard forces have set up checkpoints across the capital in a bid to assert control in the face of US-Israeli strikes.

"Even the smallest police stations are closed, so officers don't have anywhere to go," a Tehran resident in her 30s told AFP, withholding her identity for her safety.

"The only way they can show that they're there and that the situation is under control is to put checkpoints around the place."

US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have both urged the Iranian people to rise up against the clerical authorities.