JERUSALEM -- The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement on Saturday that it struck a strategic research and development facility in Tehran, allegedly used by Iran to develop nuclear weapons components.

The IDF said as part of the recent waves of strikes completed in Tehran, the Israeli air force, guided by intelligence, targeted the facility, part of Malek-Ashtar University of Technology in Tehran.

It claimed that the site was used by Iran's military industries and ballistic missile array to develop nuclear weapon components and weapons.

It said the university was subordinate to the Iranian defense ministry, and is sanctioned internationally "due to its activities and efforts over the years to advance the Iranian nuclear program and to develop ballistic missiles."

The development came amid heightened tensions following joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran starting on Feb 28, to which Iran and its regional allies responded with attacks on Israeli and US interests across the Middle East.