Latest news with #MajidMousavi
Hans India
16 hours ago
- Politics
- Hans India
Israel warns Iran of more STRIKES
Jerusalem (AP): Israel on Saturday warned of more attacks on Iran after Iran's deadly retaliatory strikes on Israel overnight and into the morning. Three people were killed, and dozens were wounded in Israel, after a series of blistering Israeli attacks on Iran's nuclear programme and its armed forces the previous day. Israel's assault on Friday used warplanes, as well as drones smuggled into the country in advance, to assault key facilities and kill top generals and scientists. Iran's UN ambassador said 78 people were killed and more than 320 wounded in the attacks. Israel said the barrage was necessary before Iran got any closer to building an atomic weapon, although experts and the US government have assessed that Tehran was not actively working on such a weapon before the strikes. It also threw talks between the United States and Iran over an atomic accord into disarray days before the two sides were set to meet Sunday. Iranian media report more Israeli strikes. Footage shared by an affiliate of Iran's state TV showed a fire after an Israeli strike at Zagros Khodro, a former car manufacturing plant in Borujerd. The state-run IRNA news agency also reported an Israeli strike on Saturday around Abadan in Iran's southwestern Khuzestan province. Other strikes appeared to be happening in Kermanshah near a military barracks. The Israeli military says seven soldiers were lightly wounded on Friday night in an Iranian missile strike in central Israel. It says they were briefly hospitalized and sent home. This is the first report of military casualties in the operation. It gave no further details on where the soldiers were located. Iran's supreme leader names new head of the Revolutionary Guard's aerospace division Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has appointed Gen Majid Mousavi to replace Gen Amir Ali Hajizadeh, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Friday. The Guard's aerospace division oversees Iran's arsenal of ballistic missiles. Israel's main international airport will stay closed. The airport authority says the it will stay closed until further notice. Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv was been closed to traffic since Israel attacked Iran's military and nuclear facilities on Friday morning and Iran retaliated with missile and drone strikes at Israel. The announcement came as Lebanon, Jordan and Syria said they were reopening their airspaces on Saturday after closing them. The Pope appeals on Israel and Iran to show responsibility and act reasonably. It was one of the strongest appeals for peace since the election in early May of the first American pontiff. 'The situation in Iran and Israel has seriously deteriorated,' Pope Leo XIV said during an audience in St. Peter's Basilica. He stressed that 'the commitment to building a safer world free from the nuclear threat must be pursued through respectful encounters and sincere dialogue to build a lasting peace'. Leo also noted that 'no one should ever threaten the existence of another'. Israel's defence minister says Tehran will burn' if it continues firing missiles. Defence Minister Israel Katz issued the stark warning after an assessment meeting with the army's chief of staff. He says Iran will pay a heavy price for harming Israeli citizens. The Israeli military said around noon on Saturday that its fighter jets 'were set to resume striking targets in Tehran'. Meanwhile, the UN nuclear watchdog — the International Atomic Energy Agency — confirmed in a post on X that the Isfahan nuclear site in Iran was targeted several times on Friday. 'No increase in off-site radiation levels has been reported as of now,' the agency said. Syria also opens its airspace after the Israel-Iran deadly attacks Syria's civil aviation authority says it's reopening the airspace on Saturday but will follow the situation in the region and take any necessary measures if needed. The airspace was closed on Friday.
LBCI
a day ago
- Politics
- LBCI
Iran names new Guards aerospace chief to replace one killed by Israel
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appointed a new head of the Revolutionary Guards air arm on Saturday to replace the one killed by an Israeli strike. In a decree, Khamenei named Majid Mousavi to replace Amirali Hajizadeh as commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps aerospace force. AFP
The National
a day ago
- Politics
- The National
Who are Iran's new military commanders?
Veterans of the Iran-Iraq war are among those replacing the Iranian commanders killed in Israel's attacks, as experts warn the force could soon start filling its top ranks with a younger generation of hardliners. The latest appointments are Maj Gen Amir Hatami as chief commander of the Iranian army, and Brig Gen Majid Mousavi, who becomes commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' aerospace force, Iranian state news agency Irna reported on Saturday. Mr Hatami served as defence minister from 2013 to 2021. He will replace Maj Gen Seyyed Abdulrahim Mousavi who will now lead the Iranian military as its chief of staff. Maj Gen Mousavi's predecessor, Mohammad Bagheri, was killed in the Israeli air strikes on Friday. The new commander-in-chief of the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is Brig Gen Mohammad Pakpour, who threatened to open 'the gates of hell' in retaliation for Israel's attacks. He joined the IRGC after the 1979 revolution, in which he fought armed groups in the Kurdistan region. 'In retribution for the blood of our fallen commanders, scientists and citizens, the gates of hell will soon be opened upon this child-killing regime,' he said upon assuming the role on Friday. Iranian army spokesman Brig Gen Abolfazl Shekarchi said the four newly appointed commanders 'will advance the path of their predecessors with full power'. Lessons from the Iran-Iraq war The eight-year war between Iran and Iraq shaped the Iranian military system, and its veterans are likely to draw lessons from there. Maj Gen Hatami was part of the volunteer Basij forces during the conflict and was honoured for his pushback against the dissident militant group Mojahedin e-Khalq (MEK). Maj Gen Mousavi is also said to have played a leading role in the 1980s conflict. Brig Gen Pakpour commanded frontline divisions during the Iran-Iraq war, including the elite 8th Najaf Ashraf and 31st Ashura units, where he was wounded in combat, according to Iranian news network Press TV. 'The old generation of Guards is very ideological, but it is also risk-averse because it knows the devastation of war,' said Hamidreza Azizi, a visiting fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs. The Iran-Iraq war equipped the Iranian military to replace its top brass at speed. 'This is a system that endured the war with Iraq. They have been prepared for such a scenario,' Mr Azizi told The National. The dwindling number of veterans, however, could pave the way 'step-by-step' for a new generation of military leaders who will take a more gung-ho approach to combat, and be less willing to come to the negotiating table, Mr Azizi fears. 'If the Islamic Republic can survive this war we will see a totally new creation in terms of hardliners,' he said. Dwindling chain of command Six high-ranking commanders are believed to have been killed on Friday, including the head of the IRGC Hossein Salami. The IRGC's aerospace force – which handles Iran's missiles – was the hardest hit, losing its commander, Brig Gen Amir Ali Hajizadeh, alongside 20 other senior officers who had convened for a meeting. The Guards will struggle to replace the aerospace force losses due to the large number of high-ranking officers killed, Mr Azizi said. Two deputy commanders of the Iranian army were also killed in the Israeli attacks, Iranian state media reported on Saturday, without naming them or the time of their deaths. Esmail Qaani, the leader of the Quds Force – a branch of the IRGC that supports Iran's regional proxies – is also reported to have been killed on Friday, but no replacement has been announced yet.
