TEHRAN: Iran has vowed to make Israel “pay a heavy price” following a major Israeli airstrike early Friday that reportedly killed several of Iran’s top military and nuclear leaders.
The strike, dubbed Operation Rising Lion by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is being described by both Iranian and international sources as one of the most significant escalations between the two regional adversaries in recent years.
According to Iranian state-run media, the head of Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Hossein Salami, was killed in the attack along with several senior leaders.
Salami, a prominent figure known for his fierce criticism of the United States and its allies, first joined the IRGC during the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s and became commander of the Guard in 2024.
The attack also claimed the lives of Fereydoun Abbasi, head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, and Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi, president of Islamic Azad University in Tehran. Both individuals were central to Iran’s nuclear and academic establishments.
The Israeli strike targeted what it claimed were strategic facilities tied to Iran’s ballistic missile and nuclear programs.
“This was a direct strike at the heart of Iran’s nuclear capabilities,” Netanyahu said, adding that the decision was made in response to what Israel viewed as an imminent nuclear threat. “Iran was just days away from assembling a nuclear bomb,” he claimed.
Israel has declared a state of emergency, and all air traffic in and out of the country has been suspended amid fears of immediate retaliation. The attack occurred approximately 225 kilometers from Tehran, in a location previously linked to cyber operations against Israel in 2021.
While Israel has hailed the operation as a defensive necessity, Iran has condemned it as an act of aggression targeting not just military sites, but also civilian areas.
Iranian officials allege that children and non-combatants were among the casualties. The Iranian military has confirmed that their command-and-control infrastructure was the primary target of the multilayered assault.
In the wake of the operation, Iran deployed harsh rhetoric. Armed forces spokesperson Abolfazl Shekarchi warned that Israel will face a “serious and painful response”, while IRGC sources claimed this was “a declaration of war.”
The United States, for its part, has distanced itself from the attack. A White House spokesperson stated, “The U.S. was not involved in the strike. Our top priority remains the safety of American citizens in the region.”
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