Israel violated international law yet again, eliminated top tier of Iranian military commanders all at once, targeting their residential homes
Israel launched a series of major military strikes against Iran on Friday, killing several top military officials and nuclear scientists in the country.
The strikes delivered a seismic blow to Iran’s chain of command, with Iranian officials and media reports saying that at least three of the top generals — including both the overall military commander and the leader of the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps — had been killed.
Iranian state media said the commander in chief of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, General Hossein Salami, was killed in the Israeli strikes, along with General Gholamali Rashid, the deputy chief of staff of the Iranian military.
State media reports added that two prominent nuclear scientists, Fereydoun Abbasi, the former head of the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran, and Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi were also killed in the strikes.
US officials said that the attack was a “unilateral” action by Israel as they denied any involvement by US forces.
Major General Mohammad Bagheri, who is the chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces, was the most senior leader amongst the dead, according to state media. There was no immediate confirmation from the Iranian armed forces. One of General Bagheri’s deputies was also killed.
Israel has a history of assassinating Iranian security officials and nuclear scientists. But it has generally killed them in covert operations. The strikes early on Friday proved to be a stunning escalation of that tactic.
Not only did they target Iran’s nuclear programme and air defences, the Israeli attacks also eliminated the top tier of military commanders all at once, targeting their residential homes, including some in secure military complexes.
In some areas of the capital, Tehran, entire apartment buildings collapsed.
In an announcement on state television, Iranian officials said they will will not participate in Sunday’s nuclear talks with the U.S., which was scheduled to take place in Oman.
Citing unnamed sources, the New York Times reported that President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, was still planning on attending Sundays’ talks and the president also told Fox News’ Bret Baier that: “We’ll hopefully get back to the negotiating table.”
In a televised statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the strikes on Iran had been “very successful” and added: “We struck the senior command, we struck senior scientists that advance development of nuclear weapons, we struck nuclear installations.”
In a statement issued to state media, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei decried the strikes, calling them “evil,” and warned that Israel “should expect a severe punishment…as the powerful hand of the Islamic Republic will not let them go.”
Khamenei also hailed the nuclear scientists and military officials killed in the attacks, calling them “martyrs.”
Khamenei’s statement did not mention the US and said the successors and colleagues of the scientists and military leaders killed in the attack will take over their roles.
