TEHRAN (Realist English). Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, has issued a stern warning to Israel following a series of Israeli airstrikes on residential areas and strategic sites in Tehran and other provinces, calling the attack a “filthy crime” that will provoke “a bitter and painful fate” for the perpetrators.
“The Zionist regime must now await a severe punishment,” Khamenei said in a statement early Friday, hours after the strikes. “With this crime, it has prepared a bitter and painful fate for itself — and it will undoubtedly face it.”
The Supreme Leader condemned the targeting of civilian zones, stating the attack had once again revealed the “vile and criminal nature” of the Tel Aviv regime. “By God’s will, the powerful hand of the Islamic Republic’s armed forces will not let it go unpunished,” he declared.
High-ranking casualties confirmed
The Israeli operation, one of the most extensive on Iranian soil in recent years, reportedly killed senior Iranian military leaders and prominent nuclear scientists. Among those confirmed martyred by state media:
- Major General Hossein Salami, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), who was targeted in central Tehran;
- Major General Gholam Ali Rashid, head of Iran’s Armed Forces Central Command;
- Nuclear physicists Dr. Mohammad-Mehdi Tehranchi, Fereydoon Abbasi, and Dr. Abdolhamid Minoucher, all of whom played key roles in Iran’s nuclear and scientific research programs.
The strikes hit multiple locations across Iran, including research centers and command facilities, and were reportedly aimed at disrupting Iran’s strategic deterrent infrastructure.
There has been no official comment from the Israeli government on the operation. However, the unprecedented scale of the attack and the high-profile Iranian casualties mark a serious escalation in the Israel-Iran shadow conflict, with both regional and global implications.
Ayatollah Khamenei’s statement signals that retaliatory measures are imminent, raising fears of a broader military confrontation in an already volatile region.
