Israeli attacks on Iran continued into the afternoon, with new explosions heard in the capital Tehran.
According to footage released by Iranian media, powerful explosions echoed in the western part of the city.
Iranian air defenses intercepted an Israeli missile south of Tehran, Iran’s official Press TV Breaking on the X network reported.
Israel launched a massive attack early this morning, deploying about 200 aircraft to target Iran’s nuclear program and long-range missile capabilities.
The attacks killed senior Iranian military officials as well as nuclear scientists.
Iran has vowed “severe punishment.” It has also called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to hold Israel accountable for its actions.
New Commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard: “The Gates of Hell Will Soon Open”
The newly appointed commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Mohammad Pakpour, threatened today to “open the gates of hell” in retaliation for the Israeli strikes that killed his predecessor, Hossein Salami.
“In retaliation for the blood of our fallen commanders, scientists and citizens, the gates of hell will soon be opened for this regime that kills children,” Pakpour told Israel, according to the state news agency IRNA.
Hours after the assassination of Major General Hossein Salami by Israeli forces early this morning, Ayatollah Khamenei issued a decree appointing his successor.
Born in 1961 in Arak, central Iran, Major General Mohammad Pakpour holds a master’s degree in geography from the University of Tehran and a doctorate in political geography from Tarbiat Modares University.
He specialized in managing Iran’s volatile border regions and developing asymmetric warfare doctrine.
After the Islamic Revolution in 1979, Pakpour joined the Quds Force of the Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and was immediately deployed to fight terrorist groups in the Kurdistan region of Iran.
During the Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s, Pakpour commanded several front-line divisions, including the elite 8th Najaf Ashraf and 31st Ashura units. He was wounded in the war, but gained a reputation as a resilient and pragmatic commander loyal to the ideological foundations of the Islamic Republic.
After the war, he held strategic leadership positions within the IRGC. In 2009, he was appointed commander of the Revolutionary Guard Corps Ground Forces, leading efforts to modernize, restructure, and redefine Iran’s military strategy in light of growing external threats, AA writes.
