In a major escalation of tensions between Israel and Iran, Israeli forces launched a large-scale strike on Tehran early Friday, killing Major General Hossein Salami, the Commander-in-Chief of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). According to Iran’s state-run Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), Hossein Salami was “assassinated in an Israeli strike in Tehran.”
The airstrikes also killed several other top Iranian officials. Senior IRGC commander Gholamali Rashid and nuclear scientists Fereydoun Abbasi and Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi were among the dead. The attacks reportedly hit at least six military bases in and around Tehran.
Israel Targets Military Bases, Nuclear Scientists
Israeli forces targeted strategic locations, including Parchin, a known military facility, and residential complexes housing senior Iranian military commanders. “In what appears to be targeted assassinations”, Israel struck multiple highly secure areas, according to four senior Iranian officials cited by The New York Times.
A senior Israeli official told Iran International that the airstrikes focused on leadership targets and not civilians. “Homes of senior military and political officials were targeted in Israeli airstrikes in Tehran,” the official said. “Civilians are not the intended targets.”
Operation ‘Rising Lion’ and Nuclear Facility Strikes
Dubbed “Operation Rising Lion,” the offensive also targeted missile factories and sites connected to Iran’s nuclear program. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated, “Israel targeted Iranian scientists working on a nuclear bomb, its ballistic missile program, and its Natanz uranium enrichment facility, in an operation that would continue for days.”
Israel has consistently warned that it would act to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Although Tehran denies intentions to build a bomb, it has frequently issued warnings that it possesses the capability.
Tensions Rise After IAEA Censure
The airstrikes come just a day after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors censured Iran for the first time in 20 years, criticizing Tehran’s lack of cooperation with nuclear inspectors. In response, Iran announced it would build a third enrichment site and replace existing centrifuges with more advanced models.
In anticipation of Iranian retaliation, the United States has begun repositioning its personnel. The U.S. has already evacuated some diplomats from Baghdad and offered voluntary evacuation options for the families of U.S. troops stationed across the Middle East.