• Source:JND
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Israel-Iran conflict : Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that Israel has conducted a "targeted military operation to roll back the Iranian threat to Israel's very survival." It was an air‑and‑missile attack against Iran, launched early on Friday, targeting uranium‑enrichment and missile sites and killing Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Commander‑in‑Chief Hossein Salami, according to Iranian state media. Tehran's news agency reported al-Salami was "martyred" when the IRGC command center and nearby air-defence infrastructures in the capital were struck. Israeli sources said Iranian military chief Mohammad Bagheri and nuclear scientists Fereydoun Abbasi and Mohammad Mehdi Tehni were killed as well, but Tehran has not confirmed their deaths yet. The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) reported that dozens of planes hit the Natanz enrichment facility, rocket-motor production lines near Isfahan, and drone production workshops near Qom, with the aim of "degrading Iran's ability to weaponise highly-enriched uranium." Precision standoff weapons were employed in an attempt to prevent mass civilian casualties, a senior Israeli military official said to local media.

Who Was Hossein Salami?

Born in 1960 in Golpayegan, Isfahan province, Salami joined the IRGC during the Iran-Iraq war and rose to command its aerospace force before taking the role of commander-in-chief in 2019. Salami began his higher education in mechanical engineering before joining the IRGC at the outbreak of the Iran-Iraq War in 1980. He held key positions such as commander of IRGC divisions, head of operations, and commander of the IRGC Air Force (later renamed Aerospace Force). Appointed as the IRGC's commander-in-chief by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in April 2019, Salami replaced Mohammad Ali Jafari.

Salami was renowned for his technical proficiency, especially in the field of missile development, and he played a significant role in the advancement of Iran's ballistic missile program. He was subject to international sanctions as a result of his leadership in this field. Under his leadership, the IRGC maintained its confrontational strategy with the US, Israel, and Saudi Arabia while also increasing its clout in regional wars. He was the mastermind of Iran's ballistic-missile program and was sanctioned by the US and EU for it. Famous for incendiary threats against Israel and the US, he commanded Iranian forces in Syria, Iraq, and Yemen. His death eliminates one of the regime's most powerful hawks.

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State Of Emergency declared In Israel

Acting IRGC commander Ali Fadavi said Iran would deliver a “severe and timely” response. Sirens sounded across Israeli cities before dawn; the IDF said they were precautionary. As measures against Iranian retaliation, Israel issued a state of emergency, threatening to strike missile and drone attacks imminently. "Following the State of Israel's preemptive strike against Iran, a missile and drone attack against the State of Israel and its civilian population is expected in the immediate future," Katz said. Oil prices surged as much as 6 percent on the strikes, which came after Trump warned of a possible Iranian attack and said the US was drawing down staff in the region.

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In a retaliatory video message, Netanyahu pledged the campaign would continue until Iran's missile and nuclear infrastructure "no longer threatens our existence." Ben Gurion Airport and civilian airspace were shut down. On the other hand, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated Washington "was not involved" and called on Iran "not to target US interests or personnel," reaffirming Israel's right to defence. Senator Jack Reed, however, called the strike a "dangerous escalation" and warned that it could sweep the region.