In the wake of a powerful military offensive by Israel targeting key Iranian figures, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued a stern warning, promising retribution against Israel for what he described as a grave act of aggression.
“The Zionist regime must expect severe punishment,” Khamenei declared in his response to the strikes. He continued, “The strong hand of the armed forces of the Islamic Republic will not relent. In the enemy’s attacks, several commanders and scientists were killed. Their successors and colleagues will immediately continue carrying out their missions, God willing.”
He concluded with a dire prophecy for Israel’s future: “Through this crime, the Zionist regime has sentenced itself to a bitter and cruel fate — and it will undoubtedly receive it.”
State-controlled media in Iran announced early Friday that Israeli forces had successfully eliminated Hossein Salami, the Commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps, in a targeted strike.
“He was killed in a strike by the Zionist regime,” the Tasnim news agency reported.
Additional accounts circulating from Iranian sources claim that Fereydoon Abbasi, who previously led Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization and had narrowly survived an assassination attempt 15 years ago, was also killed in the attack. Abbasi had long been associated with Iran’s nuclear efforts and was believed to be a high-priority target for Israel.
Reports also suggest that Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi, who serves as the president of Islamic Azad University, was among those killed in the coordinated strikes.
Simultaneously, the Nour News agency reported that Ali Shamkhani—a top advisor to Khamenei and a former secretary of the Supreme National Security Council—was critically injured during what appears to have been a separate assassination attempt. His current condition remains uncertain.
{Matzav.com}
