Hossein Salami: Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Commander-in-Chief killed by Israeli strike on Tehran, Iran

Max Corstorphan
The Nightly
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) chief commander Hossein Salami has reportedly been killed.
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) chief commander Hossein Salami has reportedly been killed. Credit: AT MS/EPA

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Commander Hossein Salami has reportedly been killed by the Israeli airstrikes on the capital of Tehran, as well as Gholamali Rashid, deputy commander of the armed forces.

It has also been claimed that Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi and Fereydoon Abbasi, top nuclear scientists for the Islamic State, are also dead.

Israel launched a “preemptive” military operation on Iran on Friday morning following days of growing tension that saw the United States pull embassy staff out of the Middle Eastern country.

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In a statement, the IDF confirmed “dozens” of jets had struck multiple military targets, some of which were nuclear.

“Dozens of IAF jets completed the first stage that included strikes on dozens of military targets, including nuclear targets in different areas of Iran,” the IDF said.

“Today, Iran is closer than ever to obtaining a nuclear weapon. Weapons of mass destruction in the hands of the Iranian regime are an existential threat to the State of Israel and to the wider world.

“The State of Israel has no choice but to fulfil the obligation to act in defence of its citizens and will continue to do so everywhere it is required to do so, as we have done in the past.”

Speaking after the strikes, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the escalation as a “targeted military operation” that was expected to last “many days,” citing Tehran’s advancing nuclear program as the catalyst.

“In recent years, Iran produced enough highly enriched uranium for nine atom bombs,” he said.

“In recent months, Iran has taken steps it has never taken steps before, steps to weaponise this enriched uranium.

“If not stopped, Iran could produce a nuclear weapon in a very short time — could be a year, could be within a few months.

“This is a clear and present danger to Israel’s very survival.

“80 years ago the Jewish people were the victims of a Holocaust perpetrated by the Nazi regime. Today the Jewish state refuses to be a victim of a nuclear holocaust perpetrated by the Iranian regime.”

A state of emergency has been declared in Israel.

More to come...

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