Majid Khademi Named Head Of Iranian Revolutionary Guard's Intelligence Unit: Reports
Majid Khademi has been appointed as the new head of the IRGC's Intelligence Organisation after Mohammad Kazemi was killed in an Israeli strike.
Majid Khademi has reportedly been named the new head of the Intelligence Organization of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The development comes after the death of Mohammad Kazemi in an Israeli strike in Iran, amid the ongoing Middle East tensions.
According to the Tehran Times, the appointment of Brigadier General Majid Khademi was made by Commander-in-Chief of the IRGC, Brigadier General Mohammad Pakpour, according to the report.
Khademi previously served as the head of the IRGC's Protection and Intelligence Organisation, the report claimed.
On Thursday, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz threatened Iran's Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, after Iranian missiles crashed into a major hospital in southern Israel and hit residential buildings near Tel Aviv, wounding at least 240 people.
As rescuers wheeled patients out of the smouldering hospital, Israeli warplanes launched their latest attack on Iran's nuclear programme.
Katz blamed Khamenei for Thursday's barrage and said the military 'has been instructed and knows that in order to achieve all of its goals, this man absolutely should not continue to exist."
In Washington, the White House announced that US President Donald Trump will decide within two weeks whether to join Israel's campaign against Iran's military and nuclear programme, signalling that Trump still sees a window for diplomacy to address Israeli and US concerns about Iran's nuclear programme.
The open conflict between Israel and Iran erupted on June 13 with a surprise wave of Israeli airstrikes targeting nuclear and military sites, top generals and nuclear scientists.
At least 639 people, including 263 civilians, have been killed in Iran, and more than 1,300 injured, according to a Washington-based Iranian human rights group.
At least 240 people were injured by the latest Iranian attack on Israel, including 80 patients and medical workers wounded in the strike on the Soroka Medical Centre.
The vast majority were lightly injured, as much of the hospital building had been evacuated in recent days.
Israel's Home Front Command said that one of the Iranian ballistic missiles fired Thursday morning had been rigged with fragmenting cluster munitions.
Rather than a conventional warhead, a cluster munition warhead carries dozens of submunitions that can explode on impact, showering small bomblets around a large area and posing major safety risks on the ground, according to Reuters.
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June 20, 2025, 06:52 IST
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Earlier, India's electronics ecosystem had experienced disruptions, with Foxconn's Hyderabad plant producing Apple AirPods facing supply shortages after the initial Panda, managing director, Indian Metals and Ferro Alloys, said, 'Industry will be relieved by China lifting its export curbs on rare earth elements and critical minerals. Moreover, it is a positive development which will aid in the normalisation of ties that are in mutual interest.'The recent thaw in India-China relations will help to strengthen Beijing's industrial and diplomatic positions, Jason Oxman, President and CEO of Washington DC-based Information Technology Industry Council (ITI), told ET.'Whenever the US vacates policy space, China wins. Where Washington pulls back from trade agreements or imposes tariffs, Beijing steps in with offers of tariff-free trade. That is a long-term risk to U.S. competitiveness,' he electronics manufacturers also hailed the decision. Rajoo Goel, secretary general, Electronic Industries Association of India (ELCINA), told ET, "The bigger hit was for Indian electronics companies in wearables and electric vehicles (EVs), which rely on rare earth magnets in larger quantities. We heard from companies such as Brandworks and boAt which faced difficulties due to shortages. EV makers were also impacted because rare earths are critical for motors and battery systems. However, I would add that while production slowed, no company had to completely shut down operations."The main lesson from this short disruption is the importance of self-reliance and forward planning, he said. "Unlike China, India hasn't sufficiently invested in securing rare earth supply chains despite a decade of efforts to grow its electronics ecosystem. 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As the global leader in yttrium production , China's policy shift opens new avenues and enormous opportunities for India to accelerate innovation in advanced plasmonic sensing technologies.'He explained that Yttrium's unique hydrogen-sensing properties make it suitable for plasmonic hydrogen gas sensors, and with India advancing indigenous chip design and fabrication, Yttrium-based Sensor Systems on Chip (YSoC) could emerge as a sensors, he said, will be critical for defence, space exploration, and green energy initiatives, including the National Green Hydrogen Mission, Indian Semiconductor Mission, National Quantum Mission, and National Manufacturing Mission. The availability of rare earths, he added, will also empower Indian MSMEs to conduct research, innovate, and manufacture rare earth-based opto-electronic chips—marking a leap in India's domestic inputs from Subhayan Chakraborty and Tanya Pandey in New Delhi.
