IAF kills Quds Force commander involved in Oct. 7 massacre

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Overnight Friday, IAF jets also targeted and killed Behnam Shahriyari, commander of the Quds Force's Unit 190, which is responsible for weapons transfers from Iran to its regional proxies. According to the IDF, Shahriyari was targeted while traveling in his vehicle in western Iran, more than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) from Israel.
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Shahriyari oversaw the delivery of arms from the Iranian regime to terrorist groups across the Middle East, including Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis in Yemen. The IDF said he played a central role in arming these organizations with rockets and missiles—many of which have been launched at Israel during the war.
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He also played a central role in financing regional terrorist networks, reportedly directing the annual flow of hundreds of millions of dollars through a network of shell companies, money changers and couriers—primarily operating out of Turkey and Lebanon.
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🔴ELIMINATED: Behnam Shahriyari, commander of the Quds Force's Weapons Transfer Unit in the IRGC, was eliminated in a precise IDF strike in western Iran.
Shahriyari was responsible for all weapons transfers from the Iranian regime to its proxies across the Middle East in order… pic.twitter.com/O9nEjuauuW
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) June 21, 2025
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According to the IDF, Shahriyari's logistical and financial operations directly contributed to the deaths and injuries of numerous Israeli civilians and soldiers. His long-standing role was seen as vital to advancing Iran's strategic goal of destabilizing the region and threatening Israel through a web of proxy forces.
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'His elimination represents a severe blow to the ability of the terrorist organizations surrounding the State of Israel to regroup and strengthen after being heavily damaged by the IDF during the war,' the military said in a statement.
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Meanwhile, the IAF also targeted and killed Aminpour Joudaki, commander of the IRGC Air Force's second UAV brigade. The IDF said he was responsible for planning and executing hundreds of drone attacks against Israel from the Ahvaz region in southwestern Iran.
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Following the June 13 elimination of Taher Pour—the commander of the IRGC Air Force's UAV headquarters—Joudaki reportedly assumed a leading role in managing the unit's operations.

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Democrats are at odds over the Israel-Iran war as Trump considers intervening

Winnipeg Free Press

2 hours ago

Winnipeg Free Press

Democrats are at odds over the Israel-Iran war as Trump considers intervening

After nearly two years of stark divisions over the war in Gaza and support for Israel, Democrats are now finding themselves at odds over U.S. policy toward Iran as progressives demand unified opposition to President Donald Trump's consideration of a strike against Tehran's nuclear program while party leaders tread more cautiously. U.S. leaders of all stripes have found common ground for two decades on the position that Iran cannot be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon. The longtime U.S. foe has supported groups that have killed Americans across the Mideast and threatens to destroy Israel. But Trump's public flirtation with joining Israel's offensive against Iran may become the Democratic Party's latest schism, just as it is sharply dividing Trump's isolationist 'Make America Great Again' base from more hawkish conservatives. While progressives have staked out clear opposition to Trump's potential actions, the party leadership is playing the safer ground of demanding a role for Congress before Trump could use force against Iran. Many prominent Democrats with 2028 presidential aspirations are staying silent, so far, on the Israel-Iran war. 'They are sort of hedging their bets,' said Joel Rubin, a former deputy assistant secretary of state who served under Democratic President Barack Obama and is now a strategist on foreign policy. 'The beasts of the Democratic Party's constituencies right now are so hostile to Israel's war in Gaza that it's really difficult to come out looking like one would corroborate an unauthorized war that supports Israel without blowback.' Progressive Democrats use Trump's ideas and words Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., has called Trump's consideration of an attack 'a defining moment for our party' and has introduced legislation with Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., that calls on the Republican president to 'terminate' the use of U.S. armed forces against Iran unless 'explicitly authorized' by a declaration of war from Congress. Khanna used Trump's own campaign arguments of putting American interests first when the congressman spoke to Theo Von, a comedian who has been supportive of the president and is popular in the 'manosphere.' 'That's going to cost this country a lot of money that should be being spent here at home,' said Khanna, who is said to be among the many Democrats eyeing the party's 2028 primary. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent who twice sought the Democratic presidential nomination, pointed to Trump's stated goal during his inaugural speech of being known as 'a peacemaker and a unifier.' 'Very fine words. Trump should remember them today. Supporting Netanyahu's war against Iran would be a catastrophic mistake,' Sanders said about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Sanders has reintroduced legislation prohibiting the use of federal money for force against Iran, insisted that U.S. military intervention would be unwise and illegal and accused Israel of striking unprovoked. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York signed on to a similar bill from Sanders in 2020, but he is so far holding off this time. Some believe the party should stake out a clear anti-war stance as Trump weighs whether to launch a military offensive that is seemingly counter to the anti-interventionism he promised during his 2024 campaign. 'The leaders of the Democratic Party need to step up and loudly oppose war with Iran and demand a vote in Congress,' said Tommy Vietor, a former Obama aide, on X. Mainstream Democrats are cautious, while critical The staunch support from the Democratic administration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for Israel's war against Hamas loomed over the party's White House ticket in 2024, even with the criticism of Israel's handling of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Trump exploited the divisions to make inroads with Arab American voters and Orthodox Jews on his way back to the White House. Today, the Israel-Iran war is the latest test for a party struggling to repair its coalition before next year's midterm elections and the quick-to-follow kickoff to the 2028 presidential race. Bridging the divide between an activist base that is skeptical of foreign interventions and already critical of U.S. support for Israel and more traditional Democrats and independents who make up a sizable, if not always vocal, voting bloc. In a statement after Israel's first strikes, Schumer said Israel has a right to defend itself and 'the United States' commitment to Israel's security and defense must be ironclad as they prepare for Iran's response.' Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., was also cautious in responding to the Israeli action and said 'the U.S. must continue to stand with Israel, as it has for decades, at this dangerous moment.' 'It really seems like the Trump and Iran war track is kind of going along like a Formula 1 racetrack, and then the Democrats are in some sort of tricycle or something trying to keep up,' said Ryan Costello, a policy director for the Washington-based National Iranian American Council, which advocates for diplomatic engagement between U.S. and Iran. Other Democrats have condemned Israel's strikes and accused Netanyahu of sabotaging nuclear talks with Iran. They are reminding the public that Trump withdrew in 2018 from a nuclear agreement that limited Tehran's enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions negotiated during the Obama administration. 'Trump created the problem,' said Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., on X. 'The single reason Iran was so close to obtaining a nuclear weapon is that Trump destroyed the diplomatic agreement that put major, verifiable constraints on their nuclear program.' The progressives' pushback A Pearson Institute/Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll from September 2024 found that about half of Democrats said the U.S. was being 'too supportive' of Israel and about 4 in 10 said their level support was 'about right.' Democrats were more likely than independents and Republicans to say the Israeli government had 'a lot' of responsibility for the continuation of the war between Israel and Hamas. About 6 in 10 Democrats and half of Republicans felt Iran was an adversary with whom the U.S. was in conflict. Democratic Rep. Yassamin Ansari, an Iranian American from Arizona, said Iranians are unwitting victims in the conflict because there aren't shelters or infrastructure to protect civilians from targeted missiles as there are in Israel. 'The Iranian people are not the regime, and they should not be punished for its actions,' Ansari posted on X, while criticizing Trump for fomenting fear among the Iranian population. 'The Iranian people deserve freedom from the barbaric regime, and Israelis deserve security.' ___ Associated Press writers Mary Clare Jalonick and Linley Sanders in Washington contributed to this report