GEOFF BENNETT: Let's turn now to "News Hour"# special correspondent Reza Sayah in Tehran.

It's good to see you.

So what did it look like today# .. REZA SAYAH: Yes, more airstrikes,# more air raids in the capital, Tehran,## on this fifth day of this war, some of those# airstrikes taking place right over my left## shoulder.

That's Northern Tehran, earlier# in the day to my left in Eastern Tehran.

And that's where you had that same sequence# that we're so used to.

You hear jet fighters## going up above.

A few seconds later, you hear# loud explosions and thick plumes of smoke.

It## is these airstrikes, these explosions that are# chasing away many Iranians from this massive city.

My guess is, millions of people have left# the city, fled the city to get to somewhere,## another city that's not being pounded by bombs.## Israeli officials, U.S.

officials continue to# say they're hitting military targets mostly,## but they also acknowledge hitting police# stations and government buildings.

And oftentimes around those buildings# you have residential areas, residential## apartments.

And again today, we saw more gruesome,## heartbreaking pictures of civilians injured, being# pulled out of the rubble.

And the death toll,## according to the Red Crescent rescue and aid# group here in Iran, has eclipsed 1,000 people.

GEOFF BENNETT: What more can# you tell us about the response?

REZA SAYAH: Well, Tehran views it# as bluster.

They understand that## in this war there's going to be a lot of# bluster from Washington, and they dismiss## it.

They have their own bluster.

They say# they're the ones that are inflicting pain.

And as far as claims that their command# center has been destroyed.

Remember,## Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, he# said they're operating without a command## center and they have activated what they're# calling a decentralized mosaic defense.

This is a military strategy, according to# Tehran, where there's no Central Command,## where forces in each province, each area is given# autonomy and independence to fight their own war.## That means if one of them is neutralized, the# other forces in different provinces continue## to fight.

And that could explain why Iran# has successfully fired off so many missiles,## so many drones, something the# U.S.

is trying to neutralize.

GEOFF BENNETT: Meantime, Reza,# the CIA has reportedly contacted## armed Kurdish separatist groups in# Iraq, suggesting that they may be## preparing to join the army in the fight# against Iran.

Any reaction from Tehran?

REZA SAYAH: Iran is aware of it.

They# have acknowledged the reports.

Remember,## even before the reports, you had U.S.

and# Israeli airstrikes hitting border forces in Iran,## suggesting that they're softening the border in# preparation for something like this to happen.

But this has been a long-running threat for# Iran, and that's why, over the past 24 hours,## they have increased their missile strikes and# drone attacks targeting those separate disc groups## in Iraq.

But if indeed this happens, if they# cross the border, that opens up a new front## in this war.

It's more of an escalation,# and it's very likely that Iran is going to## deploy more forces, more Revolutionary# Guard forces, if they haven't already.

GEOFF BENNETT: Reza Sayah# reporting tonight from Tehran.

Reza, thank you.