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Al Jazeera
15 hours ago
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Who are Iran's new top military leaders after Israel's assassinations?
Tehran, Iran – Iran has promoted several commanders to the top of its military leadership after Israel killed their predecessors in a series of air attacks. The leadership of Iran's General Staff of the Armed Forces and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) has shifted significantly as the country defends against Israeli attacks and launches retaliatory strikes. Let's take a look at which commanders were killed, who replaced them, and what this means for the deadly conflict going forward. Some of Iran's top military leaders were killed during Israel's multipronged assault, which started early Friday. Iran's highest-ranking military commander, General Mohammad Bagheri, was among the casualties. The veteran of the Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s was chief of staff of the armed forces and only answered to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Other members of the General Staff of the Armed Forces were also among the dead, including Deputy for Operations Mehdi Rabani and Deputy for Intelligence Gholamreza Mehrabi. The IRGC also lost a considerable number of top figures in its command chain, chief among them being Hossein Salami, the leader of the force. The elite aerospace division of the IRGC, which is tasked with developing Iran's sprawling missile programme, confirmed the killing of eight senior commanders who were convening in an underground bunker in Tehran. Longtime aerospace chief Ali Akbar Hajizadeh was among those killed, as were commanders leading the missile defence and drone wings of the force. Khamenei tapped Abdolrahim Mousavi, the commander-in-chief of Iran's army, to become the new chief of staff of the armed forces. The 65-year-old brigadier general has now become the first army commander to assume the position – previous figures who held the post came from within the IRGC. Mousavi is also a war veteran and completed his military training and studies at the Supreme National Defense University in the aftermath of Iran's Islamic revolution of 1979. To lead the IRGC, Khamenei selected Mohammad Pakpour, a veteran commander who started and made his career within the elite force. He led the IRGC's armoured units and then a combat division during the war with Iraq in the 1980s. Pakpour led the IRGC ground forces for 16 years before he was appointed commander-in-chief. He was also a deputy for operations at the IRGC and used to lead two major headquarters of the force. Iran's supreme leader also promoted Amir Hatami to the rank of major-general, appointing him as commander of the army. The 59-year-old is another career military man who rose through the ranks during the Iraq invasion, particularly after Operation Mersad. That was when the Mojahedin-e Khalq (MEK), who had helped win the revolution but later fell out with the theocratic establishment, led a ground assault on Iranian soil with Iraqi forces – and were dealt a resounding defeat. Brigadier General Majid Mousavi is also the new aerospace chief of the IRGC. He is believed to have been a prominent figure working to develop Iran's ballistic missiles, drone systems, and Western-criticised space launches. He also worked closely with Hassan Tehrani Moghaddam, known as the 'father of Iran's missile programme', who died in an explosion at a missile depot in 2011 that Iran ruled as accidental. All newly promoted commanders have proclaimed their commitment to the retaliation against Israel, with slogans on banners across the country reading: 'You started the war, we will finish it'. Hatami said in a statement that, under his command, the army will 'deal decisive and effective blows to the fake and child-killing Zionist regime', referring to Israel. The new commanders have overseen the launch of hundreds of explosives-laden drones and ballistic and cruise missiles fired at Israel over the past three nights, and signalled readiness for a prolonged campaign. Iran's projectiles have so far hit military bases and residential buildings, killing at least 14 people and wounding dozens more. Commanders in Tehran also started hitting Israel's energy infrastructure overnight into Sunday after Israeli warplanes targeted Iran's oil and gas facilities, petrochemical, steel and automotive plants, as well as many residential buildings. Iranian authorities have said more than 220 people, including at least 25 children, were among the victims of Israeli strikes across Iran. Sounds of explosions continuously rang out across Tehran on Sunday as the Israeli military bombed Niavaran to the north, Saadat Abad to the west, and the Valiasr and Hafte Tir neighbourhoods in downtown Tehran.
Telegraph
3 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Live Oil prices surge as Israel attacks Iran
The price of oil surged after Israel launched a wave of strikes in Iran, killing the head of its army and raising the risk of war in the Middle East. Brent crude jumped by as much as 13pc to more than $76 a barrel - its biggest intraday gain since the early days of the Ukraine war in March 2022 - as uncertainty ramped up in global markets. Gold rose as much as 1.7pc close to a record high and the US dollar bounced back from the three-year lows hit on Thursday as investors sought out safe haven assets. Israel killed Iran's chief of the military staff General Mohammad Bagheri as part of a wave of strikes on Iran, including at Tehran's enrichment facility Natanz. Iran said it would launch a 'harsh and decisive' retaliation, pushing the price of oil higher and wiping out its losses so far this year Warren Patterson, an analyst at ING, said: 'We are back in an environment of heightened geopolitical uncertainty, leaving the oil market on tenterhooks and requiring it to start pricing in a larger risk premium for any potential supply disruptions.'
Irish Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Irish Times
Israel launches attacks on Iran's nuclear programme
Israel attacked Iran 's capital Tehran early on Friday in strikes which targeted the country's nuclear programme and raised the potential for an all-out war between the two bitter Middle East adversaries. It appeared to be the most significant attack Iran has faced since its 1980s war with Iraq, with multiple sites around the country hit. The leader of Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard was killed, Iranian state television reported. Another top Guard official, as well as two nuclear scientists, were also feared dead. The chief of staff of the Iranian armed forces, General Mohammad Bagheri, was also confirmed dead by Iranian state television. READ MORE Israeli leaders said the attack was necessary to head off what they described as an imminent threat that Iran would build nuclear bombs and they warned of a reprisal which could target civilians in Israel. [ UN nuclear watchdog says Iran is in breach of negotiations ] Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned 'severe punishment' would be directed at Israel. In a statement carried by the state-run IRNA news agency, he said Israel had 'opened its wicked and blood-stained hand to a crime in our beloved country, revealing its malicious nature more than ever by striking residential centres'. In Washington, the Trump administration, which earlier cautioned Israel against an attack amid continuing negotiations, said it had not been involved in the attack and warned Iran against retaliations against US interests or personnel. Multiple sites in the capital were hit in the attack, which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said targeted both nuclear and military sites. Also targeted were officials leading Iran's nuclear programme and its ballistic missile arsenal. A partial view of a destroyed apartment in a building targeted by an Israeli strike on the Iranian capital Tehran early on Friday morning. The assault came amid warnings from Israel that it would not permit Tehran to build a nuclear weapon, although it remains unclear how close the country is to achieving that. Mr Netanyahu said in an address on YouTube that the attacks will continue 'for as many days at it takes to remove this threat'. 'It could be a year. It could be within a few months,' he said as he vowed to pursue the attack for as long as necessary to 'remove this threat'. 'This is a clear and present danger to Israel's very survival.' The International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed an Israeli strike hit Iran's uranium enrichment facility at Natanz and said it was closely monitoring radiation levels. Iranian authorities later informed the IAEA that the Bushehr nuclear power plant had not been targeted. The attack followed increasing tensions that led the US to pull some diplomats from Iraq's capital and to offer voluntary evacuations for the families of US troops in the wider Middle East. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Israel took 'unilateral action against Iran' and that Israel advised the US that it believed the strikes were necessary for its self-defence. Debris from an apartment building is seen on top of parked cars after a strike in Tehran, Iran, early on Friday (Vahid Salemi/AP) 'We are not involved in strikes against Iran, and our top priority is protecting American forces in the region,' Mr Rubio said in a statement released by the White House that warned Iran against targeting US interests or personnel. The attack comes as tensions have reached new heights over Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear programme. The board of governors at the International Atomic Energy Agency censured Iran on Thursday for the first time in 20 years over its refusal to work with its inspectors. Iran immediately announced it would establish a third enrichment site in the country and swap out some centrifuges for more-advanced ones. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said his country carried out the attack, without saying what it targeted. 'In the wake of the state of Israel's preventive attack against Iran, missile and drone attacks against Israel and its civilian population are expected immediately,' he said in a statement. The statement added that Mr Katz 'signed a special order declaring an emergency situation in the home front'. 'It is essential to listen to instructions from the home front command and authorities to stay in protected areas,' it said Both Iran and Israel closed their airspace. - AP and Reuters
