TEHRAN, IranSeveral senior Iranian military commanders and nuclear scientists were killed in large-scale Israeli airstrikes that targeted Tehran and other cities across the country in the early hours of Friday, according to Iranian state media. The wave of attacks continued on Saturday for a second day.
Among those killed are Maj. Gen. Mohammad Bagheri, chief of staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, Gen. Hossein Salami, chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and senior IRGC commander Gen. Gholam Ali Rashid, head of the central headquarters of the Iranian military.
The Israeli attacks also claimed the lives of prominent Iranian nuclear scientists, including Fereydoon Abbasi, Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi, and Abdolhamid Minoucher.
Abbasi, a former lawmaker, previously survived an assassination attempt in 2010.
The Israeli strikes began around 3 am local time (2330 GMT) and targeted both military and nuclear facilities, as well as residential areas.
Among the locations hit in Tehran were upscale northern neighborhoods such as Qeytariyeh, Niavaran, Nobonyad, Mahallati, Kamraniyeh, Saadatabad, and Andarzgoo. Other areas struck included Mehrabad, Narmak, Sattarkhan, Farahzadi, and additional districts across the capital.
Outside Tehran, the Natanz nuclear facility in Iran’s central Isfahan province was targeted. Videos circulating online showed flames and plumes of smoke rising near the facility, while the International Atomic Energy Agency has also confirmed that the “Natanz site (was) among targets.”
The Parchin military complex, located about 30 kilometers (19 miles) southeast of Tehran, was also reportedly hit, along with several other military bases in the capital.
Media reports further indicated strikes on military installations in Mazandaran province in the north.
Explosions were also reported in several other cities, including Qom, Khorramabad, Hamedan, Tabriz, Piranshahr, West Azerbaijan, Kermanshah, Ilam, and Arak, according to local sources.
Iran vows ‘severe punishment’
In response to the attacks, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued a strongly worded statement, condemning the aggression and vowing severe retaliation.
“The Zionist regime has committed a crime in our dear country today at dawn with its satanic, bloodstained hands. It has revealed its malicious nature even more than before by targeting residential areas,” he said.
“That [Zionist] regime should anticipate a severe punishment. By God’s grace, the powerful arm of the Islamic Republic’s Armed Forces won’t let them go unpunished.”
The statement confirmed that several Iranian military commanders and scientists have been killed in the attacks, while emphasizing that their successors will immediately continue their missions.
“With this crime, the Zionist regime has prepared for itself a bitter, painful fate, which it will definitely see,” said Khamenei.
Brig. Gen. Abolfazl Shekarchi, chief spokesperson for the Iranian military, also issued a stern warning, declaring that Israel “will pay a heavy price.”
“They must expect a harsh response from the armed forces, and they will receive one. There is no need for concern. Both the US and the Zionist regime will face a severe response,” Shekarchi told Iranian state TV.
The Israeli strikes come amid heightened regional tensions, exacerbated by recent threats from top Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to launch attacks on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.
The escalation also casts doubt over the future of nuclear negotiations between Tehran and Washington. The sixth round of indirect talks, scheduled for Sunday, is now likely to be canceled, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Casualties and attacks
Senior officials killed:
- Maj. Gen. Mohammad Bagheri, Iranian military chief of staff
- Gen. Hossein Salami, IRGC chief
- Gen. Gholam Ali Rashid, senior IRGC commander
- Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, IRGC Aerospace Forces
- Gen. Mehdi Rabani, deputy operations chief
- Gen. Gholamreza Mehrabi, intelligence deputy
- Brig. Gen. Davood Shekhiyan, IRGC Air Defense
- Brig. Gen. Masoud Shane’i, Chief of Staff Office, IRGC commander.
- Fereydoon Abbasi, nuclear scientist
- Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi, nuclear scientist
- Abdolhamid Minoucher, nuclear scientist
- Ahmadreza Zolfaghari, nuclear scientist
- Seyyed Amirhossein Faqhi, nuclear scientist
- Motablizadeh, nuclear scientist
- Ali Bakaei Karimi, nuclear scientist
- Mansour Asgari, nuclear scientist
- Saeed Borji, nuclear scientist
Cities and sites targeted:
- Natanz nuclear facility
- Parchin nuclear facility
- Tehran General Armed Forces Headquarters
- Qeytariyeh, Tehran
- Niavaran, Tehran
- Chitgar, Tehran
- Mehrabad, Tehran
- Mahallati Complex, Tehran
- Shahid Chamran Nobonyad Complex, Tehran
- Kamraniyeh, Tehran
- Narmak, Tehran
- Saadatabad, Tehran
- Andarzgoo, Tehran
- Sattarkhan, Tehran
- Shahid Dehghani Complex, Tehran
- Farahzadi, Tehran
- Ozgul, Tehran
- Qom
- Khorramabad
- Hamedan
- Parchin
- Qasr-e Shirin
- Tabriz
- West Azerbaijan
- Piranshahr
- Kermanshah
- Ilam
- Arak
