Israel has landed another devastating blow on Iran as two senior Iranian generals have been assassinated in an air strikes on Saturday morning.
General Gholamreza Mehrabi, deputy head of intelligence of the armed forces general staff, and General Mehdi Rabbani, deputy head of operations “were martyred” according to Iranian state television.
According to Iranian state television, Israel kept up its assault on Iran’s military and nuclear capabilities on the second the day of the military exchanges between the two warring nations.
Diaspora Digital Media reported that the commander of the Revolutionary Guards’ air force, Brig. Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, was also killed in an Israeli airstrike in Iran early on Friday.
The top brass of the IRGC Aerospace Force was also killed alongside Hajizadeh as they met in an underground command center after the start of the Israeli attack, to prepare Iran’s retaliation.
Besides Hajizadeh, the commanders of the IRGC’s drone and air defense units were also killed.
The IRGC confirmed the attack, saying Hajizadeh, “along with a group of brave and dedicated fighters of this force, were martyred.”
Diaspora Digital Media reported that tension flared on Friday after Israel executed what it called a “deception operation” in the days leading up to its unprecedented strikes aimed at making the Iranian leadership and the Israeli public believe there would be no attack, an Israeli official said.
An Israeli official said the operation included the “deception” of media and political commentators and “thus managed to surprise Iran.”
They said the plan had only “a few secret partners” and that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office had distributed announcements and briefings aimed at influencing discourse in Iran and Israel.
