The Islamic Republic of Iran has confirmed that General Mohammad Bagheri, the country’s Chief of Staff of Armed Forces, was killed in Israel’s ‘preemptive strike’ on Tehran.
General Bagheri’s death was announced by Press TV, Iran’s official broadcaster.
Israel Defence Forces, too, confirmed Bagheri’s death in the strikes across Iran on Friday.
Israel attacked Iran’s capital Tehran early on Friday in strikes that targeted the country’s nuclear programme and killed several top military officers. According to the news agency Associated Press, this will increase “the potential for an all-out war between the two bitter Middle East adversaries.”
Multiple sites across Iran, including its main nuclear enrichment facility in Natanz, about 250 kilometres south of Tehran, were hit in the Israeli strikes.
Spokesperson for the Iranian Armed Forces, Brigadier General Abolfazl Shekarchi, said Israel launched the strikes against Iran with the US’s help and attacked civilian areas.
“It appeared to be the most significant attack Iran has faced since its 1980s war with Iraq,” an AP report stated.