Israeli and US air assaults pound Iran as assassination marketing campaign of nation’s management continues.
Revealed On 20 Mar 2026
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps spokesperson has been killed in in a single day strikes carried out collectively by the US and Israel, the IRGC reported, the most recent in a mounting toll of senior officers assassinated for the reason that struggle started.
Ali Mohammad Naini, a 68-year-old brigadier basic who took up the IRGC spokesman position in 2024, “was martyred within the felony cowardly terrorist assault by the American-Zionist aspect at daybreak”, the IRGC stated in a press release on Friday.
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His demise got here simply hours after he appeared on nationwide tv to insist that Iran retained full capability to fabricate missiles, even underneath wartime situations.
“Our missile business deserves an ideal rating … and there’s no concern on this regard, as a result of even underneath wartime situations we proceed missile manufacturing,” Naini was quoted by the Fars information company as saying.
On Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that “Iran now not has the capability to counterpoint uranium and manufacture ballistic missiles”.
The Israeli military stated on Friday that it was finishing up strikes throughout japanese Tehran, because the nation marks the Persian New 12 months, Nowruz, which this yr coincides with Eid al-Fitr.
Al Jazeera’s Mohamed Vall, reporting from Tehran, described the temper within the capital as “hushed”, with not one of the customary festivities seen on the streets.
Naini’s killing is the most recent in a string of high-profile assassinations which have gutted Iran’s institution in underneath three weeks.
Supreme Chief Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed within the opening hours of the joint navy marketing campaign. He has since been changed by his son, Mojtaba Khamenei.
Earlier this week, Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme Nationwide Safety Council and one of the crucial influential figures in Iran’s institution, was killed in a strike alongside along with his son and a number of other aides.
The top of the Basij paramilitary forces, Brigadier Normal Gholamreza Soleimani, and Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib have been additionally confirmed useless inside the similar 48-hour interval.
US Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth made little effort to hide Washington’s glee, saying on Thursday that “the final job anybody on the planet needs proper now” is a senior management position within the IRGC or Basij.
Nonetheless, different US officers appeared to counsel that Washington and Israel’s goals in Israel weren’t aligned.
Director of Nationwide Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard informed the Home Intelligence Committee this week that US and Israeli goals “are totally different”, including that whereas Israel had been “centered on disabling the Iranian management,” Trump’s targets have been to destroy Iran’s ballistic missile capabilities “and their navy”.
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has solid the killings as a way of opening a path for Iranians to reclaim their nation, saying on Wednesday the marketing campaign towards the nation’s management “won’t occur ” however that persistence would give Iranians “an opportunity to take their destiny into their very own fingers”.
International Minister Abbas Araghchi stated the US and Israel had nonetheless failed to understand that Iran’s political construction doesn’t relaxation on any single particular person.
“The presence or absence of a single particular person doesn’t have an effect on this construction,” he stated.
