Overnight, Israel launched a massive attack on Iran, assassinating senior Iranian military leaders and six nuclear scientists. There have also been reports in Iranian media claiming civilians have been killed, but this has not been independently verified.
Iran has vowed to retaliate – threatening a “bitter, painful fate” for Israel. It has since launched around 100 drones at Israel in retaliation, but many of those have been intercepted.
Israel said the targets had been military facilities, including nuclear sites, with the main nuclear site in Iran, Natanz, hit but currently not seeing an increase in radiation levels.
Separately, the Israeli Air Force has said it has destroyed “dozens” of radars and surface-to-air missile launchers – this appears to suggest Israel is planning further attacks in the coming days.
In a post on Truth Social, US President Donald Trump warns Iran of “even more brutal” Israeli attacks to come if Tehran doesn’t agree to a deal on its nuclear programme – Iran has accused the US of supporting the Israeli strikes, Washington denies this.
Other countries and international organisations have called for restraint, including the UN’s nuclear watchdog which said strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities were “deeply concerning”
Commander of the IRGC’s air force killed in Israeli strikes
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Iran’s official IRNA news agency has confirmed that the commander of the IRGC’s air force has been killed.
Brig-Gen Amir Ali Hajizadeh was appointed commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in October 2009.
Born in Tehran in 1962, Hajizadeh joined the IRGC in 1980, shortly after the start of the 1980–1988 Iran–Iraq War, and served as a sniper in various operations.
Following the war, he joined the IRGC Air Force and began working in the IRGC’s missile development programme.
Later, in 2006, he was appointed commander of the IRGC Air Defence.
Hajizadeh was sanctioned by the US Treasury along with other IRGC commanders after Iran shot down a US surveillance drone near the Strait of Hormuz in June 2019.
After the downing of the Ukrainian airliner near Tehran in January 2020 by an IRGC missile, which killed all 176 people on board, Hajizadeh described the incident as an accident, took full responsibility, and stated that he would accept any punishment determined by the Iranian authorities.
