Reports indicate that Israel has killed the intelligence chief of Iran’s Elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) amidst escalating tensions between the two nations.
On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that IRGC intelligence chief Mohammad Kazemi had been targeted in an airstrike.
“Not long ago, we took out the Chief Intelligence Officer of Tehran and his deputy, because we now control the skies above Tehran,” Netanyahu told Fox News’ Bret Baier.
Iran’s state media confirmed the deaths of Kazemi and his second-in-command, Hassan Mohakik, in the attack. Additionally, another Iranian intelligence operative was reportedly killed.
Sunday marked the third day of mutual strikes between Iran and Israel, with Iranian missiles successfully breaching Israeli air defenses.
In previous operations, Israel had already targeted and killed several Iranian nuclear scientists and commanders, including IRGC commander General Hossein Salami.
“I believe we’ve significantly hindered their operations,” Netanyahu remarked regarding the strikes, referring to a surprise offensive launched on Thursday night.
He mentioned that the U.S. is engaged in negotiations with Iran concerning Tehran’s nuclear ambitions, implying he didn’t want to wait for those talks to fall through before taking action.
“That’s not how I approach warfare, nor is it how Israel approaches warfare,” he stated.
The Trump administration had previously emphasized diplomatic routes to limit Iran’s nuclear capabilities and had sought to engage in discussions with Iranian representatives before Israel’s military actions commenced.
Following Israel’s first strikes, the Trump administration underscored Israel’s unilateral approach, although President Trump acknowledged that his strong relationship with Israel could potentially draw the U.S. into the conflict.
“We aren’t involved right now. We could be. But at this moment, we’re not,” Trump conveyed to ABC News.
In a separate Fox interview, Netanyahu stated that Iran perceives Trump as “the number one enemy,” referring to him as the “junior partner” in efforts to limit Iran’s nuclear pursuits.
