- Several senior Iranian intelligence officers were killed in Israeli air strikes on Saturday
- Sayed Yahya Hamidi, who led terrorist activities against Jews and Western targets, was killed
- Jalal Pour Hossein, head of Iran's Espionage Division, was also killed in the opening strike
Several senior Iranian intelligence officers were killed on the opening day of the joint strikes by the US and Israel on Saturday, the Israeli Air Force (IAF) said in a statement.
They include Sayed Yahya Hamidi, the Deputy Minister of Intelligence for 'Israel Affairs,' who led terrorist activities targeting Jews, Western actors, and regime opponents in Iran and abroad, the IAF said.
Another top officer, Jalal Pour Hossein, who headed the Espionage Division of the Ministry of Intelligence Affairs, was also killed in the strike, Israel said.
"Guided by precise IDF intelligence, they were targeted and eliminated during the opening strike of Operation 'Roaring Lion.' Additional senior officials were also eliminated. The IAF also struck the ministry's headquarters in Tehran," the IAF said.
The IAF's announcement came on the third day of the conflict, amid unending waves after waves of Iranian missile attacks on Israeli territory.
Israel said its forces intercepted dozens of unmanned aerial vehicles launched by Iran long before they could enter Israeli airspace.
Israel has so far claimed that over 40 top Iranian leaders and military commanders have died in airstrikes since the conflict began on Saturday. The killing of supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei has in a way decapitated the entire line of Iranian leadership, according to geopolitical analysts.
Iran has many different councils to run the country, and its governance systems are not tied to only one person. Already, a committee has been formed to search for a leader who can become the next Ayatollah.
Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs shared the names of some of its top officers who were killed in the last two days. Some of them are: General Abdul Rahim Mousavi, Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces; Major General Mohammad Pakpour, Commander-in-Chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps; Admiral Ali Shamkhani, adviser to the Supreme Commander of the armed forces and Secretary of the Defence Council, and Major General Aziz Nasirzadeh, Minister of Defence and Support.
"... These great men, with a record full of sincerity, resourcefulness, and sacrifice, stood at the forefront of protecting the independence and security of the country, and finally received the reward for their sincere struggle by achieving the high status of martyrdom," Iran's Minister of Foreign Affairs Seyyed Abbas Araghchi said.
Today's Development
This morning, a US base and a power station were targeted in Kuwait in what was the most dramatic escalation for the small Gulf country in decades, after the 2003 US invasion of Iraq and Baghdad's attempt to take over Kuwait in 1990.
Blasts also rang out over the Gulf cities of Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Doha and Manama as Iran targeted the American allies.
Kuwait said "several" US warplanes crashed but all crew survived and were in stable condition. It added that authorities were investigating the incident.
Separately, Iran's army said it targeted the Ali Al Salem air base hosting US troops in Kuwait, as well as vessels in the Indian ocean, firing 15 cruise missiles.
Iran's unprecedented bombardment has hit military bases but also civilian infrastructure such as residential buildings, hotels, airports and sea ports, rattling a region long seen as a refuge from Middle East conflict.
