Latest news with #IRGC
News18
3 hours ago
- Politics
- News18
Iran Releases Photos Of Coffins Carrying Bodies Of Military Officials Ahead Of Mass Funeral
Last Updated: Ahead of the mass funeral, the Iranian state media have released the photos of the coffins carrying the dead bodies of military commanders and officials killed in the airstrikes. Iran-Israel Tensions: Two weeks after exchanging firings in a direct conflict with Israel, Iran will is scheduled to hold 'historic" funeral proceedings in Tehran for top military commanders and nuclear scientists killed during the 12-day war. Ahead of the mass funeral, the Iranian state media have released the photos of the coffins carrying the dead bodies of senior military commanders and officials killed in the airstrikes. The images purportedly show the coffins of Iran's top general Mohammad Bagheri; Iran Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) chief commander Hossein Salami; Aerospace Force commander Amir-Ali Hajizadeh; Khatam al-Anbiya commander Gholam-Ali Rashid and his successor Ali Shadmani; IRGC Quds Force Palestine Corps chief Saeed Izadi; and Saeed Borji, who was known as the figure behind Iran's nuclear detonation technology. Iranian state media have released the first photos of the coffins of senior military commanders and officials killed in Israeli airstrikes, just two hours ahead of their mass funeral in downtown images purportedly show the bodies of Iran's top general Mohammad… — Iran International English (@IranIntl_En) June 28, 2025 AFP reported. The commemorations will be followed by a funeral procession to Azadi Square, about 11 km away. He added that Saturday, June 28, would be 'a historic day for Islamic Iran and the revolution." General Mohammad Bagheri, a major general in IRGC and the second-in-command of the armed forces after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was among those killed in Israel strikes under Operation Lion. He would be laid to rest alongside his wife and daughter, a journalist for a local media outlet, the news agency said. Nuclear scientist Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi, who was also killed in the attacks, will be buried with his wife. Other high-ranking military officials will be buried in state-organised ceremonies in their home towns including Qom, Hamedan and Mashhad. Israel targeted and killed more than 20 high-ranking military officials during the 12-day war, some of them in their homes. It is expected that President Massoud Peseshkian will attend the funeral procession, but not the country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Over 600 Killed In Iran Since June 13 The conflict between Iran and Israel broke out on June 13 when Israel launched strikes that it said were aimed at halting Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. Over 30 top commanders of IRGC, including its commander-in-chief Hossein Salami and the head of its aerospace forces, Amirali Hajizadeh, were killed in the strikes. The Iranian health ministry has said that over 627 people have been killed and around 4,900 have been injured in the Israeli attacks. Meanwhile, 28 people have been killed in the Iranian strikes in Israel. First Published: June 28, 2025, 08:38 IST
Mint
9 hours ago
- Politics
- Mint
Game of Thrones meets geopolitics: All about how Israel's 'Red Wedding' strike decimated Iran's military elite
In an audacious strike dubbed "Operation Red Wedding" by Israeli planners, inspired by Game of Thrones' infamous betrayal scene, Israel assassinated Iran's top military commanders and nuclear scientists in a meticulously coordinated June 13 assault. The operation, reportedly years in the making, saw drones and missiles rain down on Tehran simultaneously, killing Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) chief Hossein Salami, Armed Forces Chief Mohammad Bagheri, and nine leading nuclear scientists critical to Iran's uranium enrichment program. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orchestrated an elaborate deception to lull Iran into complacency, even postponing his son's wedding while leaking false rifts with the U.S. over military action. This ruse ensured key targets—unaware and gathered in vulnerable locations, were eliminated in minutes. The attack leveraged decades of intelligence gathering, including smuggled explosives and drones hidden in suitcases, and built on prior 2024 strikes that disabled Iran's air defenses. As chaos engulfed Tehran, Netanyahu watched from an Israeli bunker, later declaring the mission had "shattered Iran's threat." President Donald Trump followed Israel's "decapitation" strike with a devastating U.S. bombardment, dropping 30,000-pound "bunker buster" bombs on Iran's Fordow and Isfahan nuclear facilities. Trump claimed the strikes "obliterated" Iran's nuclear program, but assessments revealed a more complex reality. While Fordow's centrifuges were destroyed by shockwaves, Iran's stockpiles of highly enriched uranium remained intact and were likely moved before the attack . The IAEA confirmed "enormous damage" but noted inspectors were barred from sites, while Iran's Foreign Ministry admitted nuclear facilities were "badly damaged" . The human toll soared to 1,054 deaths in Iran, including 318 military personnel and civilians, with Israel suffering 28 fatalities . Tehran retaliated with over 550 missiles, but 90% were intercepted by Israel's air defenses, though key economic hubs faced unprecedented disruption. Amid the rubble, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei emerged from hiding to defiantly vow Iran would "never surrender," even as his regime grappled with internal fractures and a bill suspending all cooperation with UN nuclear monitors .
Daily Mail
10 hours ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
They want to destroy America from the inside. Now Iranian sleeper agents line up on our doorstep - and an ally could be set to unleash them all
A shocking wave of Iranian regime insiders — including suspected members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) — have quietly moved to Canada in recent years, stoking fears of sleeper cells poised to strike targets across North America. The explosive revelation comes amid heightened tensions in the Middle East, where a shaky ceasefire appears to be holding after America joined Israel 's 12-day bombing campaign of Iran 's nuclear program.
Yahoo
18 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Iran carries out wave of arrests and executions in wake of Israel conflict
Iranian authorities have carried out a wave of arrests and multiple executions of people suspected of links to Israeli intelligence agencies, in the wake of the recent war between the two countries. It comes after what officials describe as an unprecedented infiltration of Iranian security services by Israeli agents. Authorities suspect information fed to Israel played a part in a series of high-profile assassinations during the conflict. This included the targeted killings of senior commanders from the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and nuclear scientists, which Iran attributes to operatives of Israel's Mossad intelligence agency working inside the country. Shaken by the scale and precision of these killings, authorities have been targeting anyone suspected of working with foreign intelligence, saying it is for the sake of national security. But many fear this is also a way to silence dissent and tighten control over the population. During the 12-day conflict, Iranian authorities executed three people accused of spying for Israel. On Wednesday - just one day after the ceasefire - three more individuals were executed on similar charges. Officials have since announced the arrest of hundreds of suspects across the country on accusations of espionage. State television has aired alleged confessions from several detainees, purportedly admitting to collaboration with Israeli intelligence. Human rights groups and activists have expressed fears over the latest developments, citing Iran's longstanding practice of extracting forced confessions and conducting unfair trials. There are concerns that more executions may follow. Iran's Ministry of Intelligence claims it is engaged in a "relentless battle" against what it calls Western and Israeli intelligence networks - including the CIA, Mossad, and MI6. According to Fars News Agency, which is affiliated with the IRGC, since the beginning of Israel's attack on Iran on 13 June, "the Israeli spy network has become highly active inside the country". Fars reported that over the course of 12 days, Iranian intelligence and security forces arrested "more than 700 individuals linked to this network". Iranians have told BBC Persian they received warning text messages from Iran's intelligence ministry informing them their phone numbers had appeared on social media pages related to Israel. They were instructed to leave these pages or face prosecution. The Iranian government has also stepped up pressure on journalists working for Persian-language media outlets abroad, including BBC Persian and the London-based Iran International and Manoto TV. According to Iran International, the IRGC detained the mother, father, and brother of one of its TV presenters in Tehran to pressure her into resigning over the channel's coverage of the Iran-Israel conflict. The presenter received a phone call from her father - prompted by security agents - urging her to quit and warning of further consequences. When Iran's supreme leader emerges from hiding he will find a very different nation 'We are exhausted' - how Iranians are feeling after fragile ceasefire After the conflict began, threats directed at BBC Persian journalists and their families have become increasingly severe. According to the journalists recently affected, Iranian security officials contacting their families have claimed that, in a wartime context, they are justified in targeting family members as hostages. They have also labelled the journalists as "mohareb" — a term meaning 'one who wages war against God' — a charge that, under Iranian law, can carry the death penalty. Manoto TV has reported similar incidents, including threats against employees' families and demands to cut all ties with the outlet. Some relatives were reportedly threatened with charges such as "enmity against God" and espionage - both capital offences under Iranian law. Analysts view these tactics as part of a broader strategy to silence dissent and intimidate exiled media workers. Security forces have also detained dozens of activists, writers and artists, in many cases without formal charges. There are also reports of arrests targeting family members of those killed during the 2022 "Woman, Life, Freedom" anti-government protests. These actions suggest a broader campaign aimed not only at current activists but also at those connected to previous waves of dissent. During the war, the Iranian government severely restricted access to the internet, and even after the ceasefire, full access has not yet been restored. Limiting internet access during crises, especially during nationwide protests against the government, has become a common pattern by Iran. Additionally, most of the social networks like Instagram, Telegram, X and YouTube, as well as news websites such as BBC Persian, have long been blocked in Iran and cannot be accessed without using a Virtual Private Network (VPN) proxy service. Human rights advocates and political observers have drawn parallels to the 1980s, when the Iranian authorities brutally suppressed political opposition during the Iran-Iraq War. Many fear that, in the wake of its weakened international standing after the conflict with Israel, the Iranian authorities may again turn inward, resorting to mass arrests, executions, and heavy-handed repression. Critics point to events of 1988, when, according to human rights groups, thousands of political prisoners - many already serving sentences - were executed following brief, secretive trials by so-called "death commissions." Most victims were buried in unmarked mass graves.
India.com
19 hours ago
- Politics
- India.com
How Iran's Khamenei was protected amid Israel's assassination threat during Israel-Iran war? Mossad couldn't find him due to...
Israel had targeted Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei for assassination during the 12-day war. (File) Ayatollah Khamenei: Israel's June 13 attack on Iran, which triggered the 12-day Israel-Iran war, shocked the world, not just because of the scale of the lethal airstrikes it conducted on Iranian cities, but the deadly precision with which Jewish state almost wiped out the entire top brass of Tehran's military leadership and nuclear scientists. Khamenei was targeted for assassination The assassination of Iran's top military brass, including IRGC chief Hossein Salami and Iran's Armed Forces Chief of Staff Major General Mohammad Bagheri, raised fears that Israel's next could be Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei himself. The fear gained credence when Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz, began talking about regime change as a war aim, with Katz later openly admitting that they aimed to killed Ayatollah Khamenei. According to report by Firstpost, Israel Katz said that the Israel Defense Force (IDF) was tasked with assassinating Khamenei but did not get an opportunity to do so as they could not locate the Iranian Supreme Leader. Here's why the IDF, and even the Mossad– Israel's premier spy agency– failed to locate Ayatollah Khamenei during the 12-day Israel-Iran war. Where was Khamenei during the 12-day war? According to media reports, as soon as the war began on June 13, Ayatollah Khamenei was rushed to an ultra-secure secret bunker located somewhere in the northeastern suburb of Tehran. The bunker is a highly-secret location, and only a few close aides of Khamenei and his family, knew about his whereabouts. During his stay, the Iran Supreme Leader essentially went off the grid, turning off all electronic communication with his commanders, making it impossible for Mossad and IDF to trace his location as his phone and other electronic gadgets were turned off. Speaking to Channel 13, Israel Katz admitted that Israel planned to assassinate Khamenei, and would had done so without any hesitation if they had managed to find him. Meanwhile, in his first televised address since the Israel-Iran ceasefire came into effect, the Iranian Supreme Leader on Thursday issued a stern warning to Israel and its ally, the United States, stating that America will 'pay a heavy price' if the Islamic Republic is attacked again. Khamenei also claimed that Iran had delivered a 'slap to America's face' with its missile strike on the US military base in Qatar.
