TEHRAN – Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency has confirmed the deaths of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) intelligence chief Mohammad Kazemi and his deputy Hassan Mohaqiq in an Israeli missile strike on Sunday. A third officer, Mohsen Bagheri, was also reported killed in the same attack in Tehran.
This strike marks a major escalation in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran, now entering its third consecutive day. Both nations have launched repeated strikes, leaving dozens of civilians dead and raising fears of a larger regional war.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had earlier claimed that Kazemi and Mohaqiq had been eliminated. Later, Iranian state media confirmed the news. The death of such high-ranking intelligence figures is considered a major blow to the IRGC’s command structure.
Meanwhile, Iran retaliated with a rare daytime missile barrage targeting Israel. One missile hit a building in Haifa, injuring four people. Authorities confirmed that 15 people have been wounded across Israel, and 14 lives have been lost since the attacks began.
In Iran, strikes on the country’s oil and gas sector triggered massive fires, lighting up the night sky in Tehran. The Iranian death toll has reached at least 224, with state media stating that most of the victims were civilians. Both sides have vowed to intensify attacks if the situation worsens.
As the violence spreads, the U.S. has called off nuclear talks with Iran. A U.S. official also revealed that President Donald Trump recently rejected an Israeli plan to target Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — a move that could have triggered an all-out war.