Iranian state media confirms death of Iran's IRGC intelligence chief

Euronews

11 hours ago

Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency has confirmed the death of the Islamic Revolutionary Corps intelligence chief Mohammad Kazemi and his deputy Hassan Mohaqiq.
It added that a third IRGC intelligence officer, Mohsen Bagheri, was also killed in the strike in Tehran. They were reportedly killed in an Israeli strike on Sunday.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had already stated earlier that Kazemi and Mohaqiq had been killed.
Israel and Iran launched attacks on each other for the third day in a row on Sunday, killing scores of civilians, and raising fears of a wider conflict.
As the death toll continues to rise, both sides have threatened to unleash even greater force.
At least 14 people have been confirmed dead in Israel. While Tehran has not given a full death toll, it said 78 people were killed on Friday and dozens more have died since.
For the first time, Iran also launched a daytime barrage against Israel. At least one of the missiles launched on Sunday evening hit a building in the coastal city of Haifa, injuring four people, bringing the number of wounded across the country to 15.
Israelis have now been told they can leave shelters, after the missile attack caused several light injuries and damage in both the north and south of the country.
In Iran, images from the capital showed the night sky lit up by a huge blaze at a fuel depot after Israel began strikes against its oil and gas sector.
Meanwhile, US-Iran nuclear talks were called off on Sunday, and a US official says that President Donald Trump has rejected​ a plan by the Israelis to kill Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
In a remarkable development that reflects the expansion of the open confrontation between Iran and Israel, the Yemeni Houthi group announced on Sunday that it had targeted the Jaffa area with several ballistic missiles, in an attack that was coordinated with Tehran, according to official statements by the group. The entry of the Houthis, Iran's allies in Yemen, into the battle opens a new phase of regional escalation and reinforces the possibility of a "multilateral front" against Israel.
Ansar Allah's military spokesman, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, said in a televised statement that the attack was carried out during the past 24 hours and targeted what he described as "sensitive sites" in the city of Jaffa in Israel. Saree confirmed that the operation was carried out in co-ordination with the recent Iranian attacks on Israel.
On the other hand, Israeli media reported that the country's air force carried out an airstrike in Yemen, targeting, according to intelligence sources, the chief of staff of the Houthi group, Mohammed Abdul Karim al-Ghamari. The TV channel "Kan" and the "Axios" website quoted Israeli officials as saying that the operation, if confirmed successful, would be "very important and dramatic".
However, a Houthi source denied that any of the group's leaders were successfully targeted, stressing that what is being circulated is "an attempt to cover up Israel's failures in repelling the attacks."
In a televised speech broadcast by Al-Masirah TV, Ansar Allah leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi announced his full support for the Iranian response to Israel, threatening what he described as an "open and long-term war" against Tel Aviv. Al-Houthi added that Yemen will be part of any fateful battle fought by the "axis of resistance".
Fars News Agency reported that Tehran used advanced tactical missiles, powered by solid fuel and equipped with high-explosive warheads, including the "Emad", "Qader", and "Khyber" models. The official IRNA news agency also confirmed the use of a hypersonic missile in the latest strike on the city of Haifa.
The New York Times reported that the attacks directly damaged a major Israeli research centre, leading to a fire inside one of the laboratory buildings. Yediot Aharonot also reported that the Weizmann Scientific Institute in Rehovot was severely damaged by a rocket.
With the Houthis officially entering the circle of escalation, the confrontation has gone beyond its traditional framework between Tehran and Tel Aviv, turning into a multi-front regional conflict. In the absence of signs of calm, the region appears to be heading towards an open escalation that may change the contours of the Middle East for decades to come.