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Saudi Gazette
28-06-2025
- Politics
- Saudi Gazette
Iran holds state funeral for slain military commanders and scientists
TEHRAN — Iran held a state funeral on Saturday for dozens of senior military commanders, nuclear scientists, and civilians killed during the 12-day war with Israel, which ended earlier this week in a US-brokered ceasefire. Thousands of mourners gathered near Tehran's Enghelab Square, where coffins draped in Iranian flags and adorned with portraits of the dead were paraded through the crowd. Authorities said 60 individuals, including top military and scientific figures, were buried. Government offices were closed, and free transportation was offered to encourage public attendance. Among the dead was Gen. Mohammad Bagheri, Iran's highest-ranking military officer and chief of staff of the armed forces. He was laid to rest alongside his wife and daughter, who were killed in an Israeli prominent figures buried included Hossein Salami, commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi, head of Azad University in authorities said the overall death toll inside Iran reached 627 during the conflict, while Israeli officials reported 28 deaths following missile attacks launched by funeral was attended by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani, an advisor to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Shamkhani sustained injuries in an earlier Israeli war, which saw U.S. forces intervene with strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, has left diplomatic tensions at a boiling point.U.S. President Donald Trump said he would 'absolutely' consider future military action against Iran if intelligence suggested Tehran was enriching uranium to dangerous at the White House on Friday, Trump claimed he had been considering sanctions relief but abruptly abandoned the effort following what he called 'hostile' comments by Khamenei.'I saved him from a very ugly and ignominious death,' Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, 'and he does not have to say, 'thank-you, president Trump!''Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi issued a sharp response, warning Trump to refrain from 'disrespectful' language toward Iran's supreme insisted that while Iranian nuclear sites suffered 'serious damage,' the strikes had 'achieved nothing significant.'The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, noted that the full extent of the damage to Iran's nuclear program remains stressed that preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon 'will not be solved militarily,' and emphasized the need for diplomacy.
Shafaq News
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Shafaq News
Ongoing Israeli attack: 4 waves, Iranian seniors killed
Shafaq News/ Israel carried out a wave of unprecedented airstrikes deep inside Iran early Friday, targeting military and nuclear sites, as Iranian state media confirmed the deaths of senior military commanders and nuclear scientists. The attacks reportedly extended to additional cities beyond the capital, and until publishing this report, a fourth wave of attacks was recorded. Iranian state television reported the death of General Gholam Ali Rashid, Commander of Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, in strikes that hit Tehran. The broadcast also confirmed the deaths of nuclear scientists, the former head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Fereydoon Abbasi, and the President of Azad University, Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi, in the attacks. Iranian media also reported the death of Ahmad Reza Zoulfaghari, a prominent nuclear engineering professor. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Friday officially confirmed the death of its Commander-in-Chief, Major General HosseinSalami In addition, reports revealed that Ali Shamkhani, senior advisor to the Supreme Leader, sustained critical injuries after his residence was targeted. Fars News Agency stated that unconfirmed reports indicate the death of Major General Mohammad Bagheri, Chief of the General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, in the same or related attacks. Iranian authorities have not yet officially confirmed Bagheri's death. The Israeli military has not publicly commented on specific targets or individuals in the operation, which has been described as one of the most extensive Israeli strikes inside Iran to date.
The Intercept
13-06-2025
- Politics
- The Intercept
Did Israel Just 'Blow Up' Trump's Bid For an Iran Nuke Deal?
A firefighter calls out his colleagues at the scene of an explosion in a residence compound in northern Tehran, Iran, on June 13, 2025. Photo: Vahid Salemi/AP The attack had been predicted for weeks, but over the last few days, the chatter was taken seriously enough that the U.S. ordered non-essential diplomatic personnel to evacuate the region. By the time the Israeli military finally struck Iran on Thursday evening — early Friday morning in Tehran — the U.S. and Iran were just three days out from a sixth round of scheduled nuclear talks in Muscat, Oman. With the bombs dropped, questions hung in the air. How fierce would Iran's promised response be? Did Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu aim to scuttle the nuclear talks? President Donald Trump had been pursuing hard-nosed diplomacy with Iran, but did he even try to stop Israel? In what it deemed a 'preemptive strike,' the Israeli military claimed to target Iran's nuclear sites, like the one in Natanz, its ballistic missile program, nuclear scientists, and senior military officials. Among them was armed forces Chief of Staff Mohammad Bagheri, who was initially rumored to be dead but is apparently safe. Given that Iran had neither shown any preparations for an attack on Israel nor made any military threats against it, the preemptive strike was certainly illegal under international law—not that Netanyahu has shown any particular concern for such niceties. Netanyahu said the operation will continue. That, presumably, means war. Whatever damage Iran sustained in the overnight attack, Netanyahu stated in a speech that the operation targeting Iran's nuclear program will continue until he is satisfied that the threat it presents is eliminated. That, presumably, means war — one that will be increasingly difficult for the U.S. to stay out of, especially when it comes to defending Israel in the face of Iranian retaliation. At this early hour exact casualty numbers from the strikes are not known, but images coming out of Tehran show multiple residential buildings damaged and explosions across the capitol city. Several prominent figures in Iranian military, nuclear, and academic circles have been confirmed killed. The chief of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, Hossein Salami, was among them, as were Azad University president Mohammad Tehranchi, a theoretical physicist; Fereydoon Abbasi, a politician and former head of the Atomic Energy Organization; and Gen. Gholamali Rashid, commander of Khatam-al Anbiya Central Headquarters, Iran's unified military command. Ahead of the attack, Israel telegraphed its plans through leaks to the media — and Trump faced questions from a reporter on Thursday about the possibility. The president suggested a strike could happen at any time, though he maintained that he preferred diplomacy. It seems clear enough from Trump's response that, while the U.S. may not have given Netanyahu a green light to attack, it didn't demand that it refrain from doing so. Tellingly, in his answer to the reporter, Trump said that an attack by Israel could 'blow up' the scheduled talks between U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi, but added that an attack may also be helpful. Presumably, Trump thought an attack might give the U.S. more leverage over a weakened and chastened Iran. It's impossible to know if Trump came up with the notion himself, or if it came out of the meeting on the Iran nuclear issue he held with his foreign policy team at Camp David on Sunday. Regardless, if meant seriously, the idea showed a fundamental misunderstanding of Iran, which is even less likely to compromise on its nuclear program than it might have been before the attack. Netanyahu may just have a better grasp on the Iranians than the Trump administration. It seems likely that the Israeli leader chose to attack Iran not to give Trump and Witkoff more leverage, but to put an end to the talks once and for all. Taken aback by Trump's announcement earlier this year that the U.S. would begin direct talks with Iran, Netanyahu has seemed determined since then to scupper the possibility of a new nuclear agreement. Netanyahu, echoed by Israel's staunchest supporters in Congress, demanded the talks result in a complete dismantling of Iran's nuclear program — which he is well aware was a non-starter for Iran — or threatening military action if the talks didn't accomplish his goal. The Israeli strike, in the end, could have more far-reaching consequences, scuttling not just the talks themselves, but any chance of an entente between the U.S. and Iran. In that sense, Netanyahu has succeeded. Even if talks continue, the idea Trump once had for a 'successful' Iran — at peace and integrated into the world economy — is today certainly blown up.
