JERUSALEM, Israel – Israel launched a series of targeted airstrikes across Iran early Friday, killing senior Iranian military leaders and hitting key nuclear and defense infrastructure in what is shaping up to be one of the most dangerous escalations between the two long-time enemies in decades.
Iran confirmed that Major General Mohammad Hossein Baqeri, Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, was killed alongside Major General Hossein Salami, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and other high-ranking officials.
Iranian state media described the assault as a “massive, coordinated attack” that also struck nuclear facilities and civilian infrastructure.
We can now confirm that the Chief of staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, Commander of the IRGC and the Commander of Iran’s Emergency Command were all eliminated in the Israeli strikes across Iran by more than 200 fighter jets.These are three ruthless mass murderers with
State news agency IRNA reported that at least six nuclear scientists were among the dead. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei responded with a stern warning, promising that Israel would face “severe punishment.”
“With this crime, the Zionist regime has prepared for itself a bitter, painful fate, which it will definitely see,” Khamenei said in a televised address.
An Israeli military official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the strikes specifically targeted Iranian nuclear and military assets.
The official did not offer further detail on the locations or extent of the damage. In Israel, air-raid sirens were triggered as a precaution amid fears of an immediate Iranian response.
The attacks follow mounting international concern over Tehran’s nuclear activities.
Just a day earlier, the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) Board of Governors issued its first censure of Iran in two decades, accusing the country of failing to cooperate with nuclear inspections.
In response, Iran vowed to expand its nuclear enrichment program by introducing a third site and deploying more advanced centrifuges.
For years, Israel has insisted it will not allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon — a goal Tehran continues to deny pursuing, even as it inches closer to weapons-grade enrichment capability.
Recent developments, however, have heightened fears that the decades-long shadow war between the two nations is entering a far more dangerous, open phase.
While Iran has called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, the international response remains cautious.
The full scale and fallout of the operation remain unclear, but analysts say the targeted killings of Iran’s top military brass may mark a turning point — one that risks tipping the region into broader conflict.
