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Israeli air strikes kill IRGC commander Salami

IranWire: The commander in chief of Iran's Revolutionary Guards Hossein Salami was killed in Israeli airstrikes on Tehran Friday, Iran's official news agency IRNA reported.

Senior IRGC commander Gholamali Rashid and nuclear scientists Fereydoun Abbasi and Mohammad-Mehdi Tehranchi were also killed in the attacks, according to the state-run agency.

The IRGC headquarters in Tehran was among the targets hit during the Israeli operation, Iranian state media reported.

"The miscalculation and crime of the sworn enemies of Iran and Iranians will not go unanswered and they must expect severe and regretful revenge," the IRGC said in a statement.

The IRGC confirmed Salami and several bodyguards and colleagues were killed in the "criminal and terrorist" attack on the Guards headquarters "while carrying out national security duties."

The statement described Salami as "one of the most prominent commanders of the Islamic Revolution" and said he was killed while "defending the ideals of the revolution and nation."

The IRGC also blamed the United States for the attack, saying "the criminal Zionist regime will pay a heavy price for this crime committed with the knowledge of the vile rulers of the White House and the terrorist American regime."

"Undoubtedly, the steadfast path of that high-ranking martyr will continue with doubled motivation by the children of the revolution in the IRGC, Basij, armed forces and all the people," the statement said.

Israeli warplanes attacked military targets in Tehran early on Friday, with explosions heard across the Iranian capital and Israel declaring a national emergency in preparation for retaliation.

Defense Minister Israel Katz called the operation a "pre-emptive strike."

Air raid sirens sounded in Jerusalem and other Israeli cities as officials warned of an imminent Iranian counterattack.

Witnesses in Tehran reported seeing jets strike military bases in the eastern part of the city, creating large fires and smoke plumes.

Iranian officials said fighter jets were deployed to intercept the Israeli aircraft.