Israel has claimed responsibility for the killing of three senior Iranian military commanders in a new wave of airstrikes targeting key locations across Iran on Saturday.
Among those reportedly killed is Saeed Izadi, a high-ranking Iranian official responsible for overseeing military coordination with the Palestinian militant group Hamas. Izadi was said to have been targeted in Qom, just south of the capital, Tehran.
Israel’s Defense Ministry also confirmed that two other senior members of Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) were killed in separate precision strikes.
The development comes amid an escalating conflict that began on June 13, when Israel launched a large-scale military operation aimed at Iranian military and nuclear infrastructure. Israeli officials say the strikes were preemptive, citing intelligence reports that Iran was nearing the capability to produce a nuclear weapon.
Speaking to German newspaper Bild, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar stated that the aerial campaign has already dealt a major blow to Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
“Our assessment is that Iran’s ability to develop a nuclear bomb has been delayed by at least two to three years,” Saar said. “We are determined to eliminate this threat by any means necessary.”
In addition to the targeted assassinations, Israeli warplanes reportedly carried out a second wave of airstrikes on Iran’s Isfahan nuclear facility, as well as missile storage depots and launch sites located in central parts of the country.
Tensions between the two longtime adversaries continue to rise, with both sides engaging in repeated rounds of retaliatory attacks.
