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Israel Renews Attacks; Iran Replaces Assassinated Leaders

Above photo: AP.

Iran has vowed a ‘bitter’ and ‘painful’ response to the Israeli campaign.

Which is expected to last up to several weeks.

New Israeli airstrikes hit the Iranian cities of Tabriz and Shiraz on the afternoon of 13 June, several hours after the start of Tel Aviv’s large-scale campaign against the country.

Circulating footage showed massive plumes of black smoke rising over the two cities. According to Iranian media reports, the new strikes on Tabriz targeted the city’s international airport.

Israel’s Channel 12 reported that warplanes bombed a missile production plant in Shiraz.

Earlier, Iran appointed replacements for the top military and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) officials that were assassinated during the largescale Israeli bombing campaign against the country.

Brigadier General Mohammad Pakpour has been made the new commander of the IRGC to replace Hossein Salami, while Abdolrahim Mousavi has been made chief of staff of the Iranian army, replacing Mohammad Bagheri.

Salami and Bagheri were assassinated along with several others, including the commander of the Khatim al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, Gholam Ali Rashid, who has been replaced by Brigadier General Ali Shadmani. The replacements were issued in a decree from Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

At least six top nuclear scientists have also been assassinated.

Twelve Iranian provinces have come under Israeli attack since the early morning hours of Friday, according to Iran’s Red Crescent.

Widespread destruction, including in residential areas of Tehran and at key nuclear sites such as Natanz, has been reported. There are dozens of civilian casualties.

The Red Crescent said 95 people have been injured across the 12 provinces. Dozens of women and children are among the casualties, Iran’s IRNA outlet reported.

Hundreds of Iranian drones were launched toward Israel following the onset of the attacks, with most intercepted over Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Syria before reaching Israeli airspace.

Israel launched Operation “Lion’s Courage” early on 13 June.

Israeli officials cited by Axios claimed the operation was launched after eight months of planning – with a green light from Washington.

According to the Times of Israel, Mossad operatives built a covert drone launch base inside Iran as part of a years-long operation targeting the country’s nuclear and missile infrastructure. The operation involved smuggling weapons into Iran, disabling air defenses, and launching drone and missile strikes near Tehran.

Israeli forces reportedly carried out these missions undetected, claiming full aerial control over Iranian airspace.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the campaign against Iran will continue “as long as necessary.”

Israel’s Channel 14 said that the campaign against Iran will continue for weeks with varying degrees of intensity.

“With this crime, the Zionist regime has prepared for itself a bitter, painful fate, which it will definitely see,” Khamenei said on Friday morning.

“There remains no limit to the scope of Iran’s response to the Zionist regime, which has crossed all redlines by attacking the Islamic Republic,” the new chief of staff was quoted as saying.

Arab states assist Israel in shooting down waves of ‘Iranian drones’

Sources cited in Iranian media said Tehran has yet to launch any drones, and that a retaliation will be announced via official channels

At least 100 drones have been fired towards Israel since the start of the Israeli attack against Iran early on 13 June, many of which have been intercepted with the help of Arab states including Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

Iran has not yet confirmed that it launched any drone attacks against Israel.

The Israeli army said early afternoon on Friday that it had “control over the situation,” and that Israel “continues to operate to intercept unmanned aerial vehicles launched from Iran towards the State of Israel.”

A source cited by Iran’s Fars news agency said the Islamic Republic “has not carried out any drone attacks so far” and the “real revenge will take place in the near future and will only be announced through official channels.”

Unconfirmed reports on Telegram said the drones may have been launched from Iraq

Earlier on 13 June, video footage on social media showed sirens blaring in the Jordanian capital Amman, due to drones en route to Israel.

The Jordanian Armed Forces announced on Friday that its Royal Air Force and air defense systems intercepted several drones that entered Jordanian airspace earlier in the day.

“We are operating at a high level of readiness to protect the skies of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,” the military said in a statement.

Israeli officials cited by Channel 12 and the Times of Israel said Israeli warplanes shot down drones over Saudi and Syrian airspace.

According to an Al-Akhbar correspondent, Iranian drones flew towards Israel over the southern Lebanese border on Friday afternoon, prompting interception attempts by the Iron Dome system.

Sirens reportedly sounded in Kiryat Shmona and other northern Israeli settlements.

The Iraqi government has issued a complaint at the UN Security Council over Israel’s use of its airspace to shoot down drones. “Iraq affirms that these practices represent a flagrant violation of the country’s sovereignty and a transgression of the provisions of international law and the United Nations Charter,” Iraqi state media said, adding that “Iraq demands that the Security Council assume its legal and moral responsibilities and use its powers to deter the Zionist entity and prevent it from repeating such violations.”

Germany’s Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul condemned what it said was an “indiscriminate” Iranian drone attack.

No casualties have been reported from the drone attack as of yet.

Meanwhile, Tel Aviv continues to escalate its airstrikes across Iran, bombing the capital and several provinces.

At least 78 people have been killed and over 300 wounded in Tehran alone, according to Fars news agency.

assetto corsa mods

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