Iran Promises Harsh Reprisal for Israeli Airstrikes
Tehran confirms loss of top military and scientific figures
Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, declared on Friday that Israel’s recent air attacks on Iranian soil will be met with firm retaliation. He confirmed that several senior military commanders and scientists were killed in the strikes. All week Iran has been saying it is prepared and ready for any attacks but still lost its military leadership.
According to the Israeli military, the assault targeted dozens of sites across Iran, including military bases and a nuclear facility in Natanz. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed the operation aimed to stop Iran from gaining the means to produce nuclear arms.
Speaking Friday morning, Khamenei denounced the strikes as an act of aggression and warned that Israel “should prepare for severe punishment.” He accused Israel of hitting civilian areas and mourned the loss of key military and scientific personnel.
Iran’s Armed Forces issued a statement calling the attack “blatant aggression” and pledged a forceful and decisive response.
Reports in the Iranian press named several of the dead, including Major General Hossein Salami, head of the Revolutionary Guard, General Gholam Ali Rashid, Deputy Chief of Staff, and two nuclear scientists, Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi and Fereydoon Abbasi.
The airstrikes came just days ahead of a new round of nuclear negotiations between the United States and Iran, set to begin Sunday in Oman. Former President Donald Trump recently accused Tehran of delaying the talks, after earlier rounds failed to make progress. On Friday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that the United States had no part in the Israeli operation.
Iran continues to deny any intention to build nuclear weapons, maintaining that its atomic work is for peaceful, civilian use.
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