The second week of the Israel-Iran war started with a renewed round of strikes targeting an Iranian nuclear research facility near Isfahan. Talks in Geneva on Friday between European foreign ministers and Iran’s top diplomat failed to produce a breakthrough.
US President Donald Trump continued to weigh his country’s military involvement as concerns spiked over potential strikes on Iranian nuclear reactors.
Two IRG commanders killed, claims Israel: Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Saturday that the military had killed a veteran commander in the Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ overseas arm, in a strike in an apartment in Iran’s Qom province.
The commander, Saeed Izadi, led the Palestine Corps of the overseas arm, or Quds Force, Katz said in a statement.
The Israeli military later said that it killed a second commander of the Guards’ overseas arm, who it identified as Benham Shariyari, during a strike on his vehicle overnight in western Tehran. It said the commander “was responsible for all weapons transfers from the Iranian regime to its proxies across the Middle East”.
Shariyari supplied missiles and rockets launched at Israel to Hezbollah, Hamas and Yemen’s Houthis, according to the Israeli military. There was no confirmation from the IRGC on the killing of the two commanders.
B-2 bombers moving to Guam amid Middle East tensions: The United States is moving B-2 bombers to the Pacific island of Guam, two U.S. officials told Reuters on Saturday, as President Donald Trump weighs whether the United States should take part in Israel’s strikes against Iran.
It was unclear whether the bomber deployment is tied to Middle East tensions. The B-2 can be equipped to carry America’s 30,000-pound GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator, designed to destroy targets deep underground. That is the weapon that experts say could be used to strike Iran’s nuclear program, including Fordow.
Khamenei picks possible successors: Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has reportedly named three clerics as possible successors while taking shelter in a bunker amid assassination threats from Israel during the ongoing conflict.
The New York Times, citing three Iranian officials familiar with the development, reported that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has begun appointing replacements for top military commanders who were killed in Israeli strikes.
Iran president says will not halt nuclear activity: Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said Saturday his country will not halt nuclear activity “under any circumstances” amid ongoing fighting with Israel which hit nuclear sites.
“We are ready to discuss and cooperate to build confidence in the field of peaceful nuclear activities, however, we do not agree to reduce nuclear activities to zero under any circumstances,” said Pezeshkian.
Iran warns of ‘more devastating’ response: Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian warned Saturday that his country’s response to continued Israeli “aggression” will be “more devastating”, as fighting raged between the two foes for a ninth day.
“Our response to the continued aggression of the Zionist regime will be more devastating,” said Pezeshkian during a phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron, according to the official IRNA news agency.