by Our Correspondent in Doha
In the wake of a deadly Israeli airstrike on Tehran, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei has issued two major interim military appointments, signaling Iran’s readiness for a decisive response.
By executive order, Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi has been appointed as the temporary Commander-in-Chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Admiral Habibollah Sayyari has also been named temporary Chief-of-Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces. The appointments come amid heightened tensions and widespread national mourning following the attack.
Shortly after the appointments were announced, Ayatollah Khamenei released a statement condemning the Israeli strike, which targeted residential areas in Tehran and resulted in both civilian and military casualties.
“The Zionist regime has committed a crime in our dear country today at dawn with its satanic, bloodstained hands,” the Supreme Leader said in a message addressed to the nation. “It should anticipate a severe punishment. By God’s grace, the powerful arm of the Islamic Republic’s Armed Forces won’t let them go unpunished.”
Khamenei emphasized that the attack had revealed the “malicious nature” of the Israeli regime and warned that it had “defined a bitter and painful destiny for itself.”
Among the martyrs named in the attack are two of Iran’s most prominent nuclear scientists: Dr. Mohammad Mahdi Tehranchi, president of the Islamic Azad University, and Dr. Fereydoon Abbasi, a former head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran. Both figures were widely regarded as key contributors to Iran’s nuclear research and technological advancement.
Iranian officials confirmed that the Israeli missile strikes, which occurred in the early hours of Friday, hit several residential buildings in the capital. In addition to the deaths of Tehranchi and Abbasi, multiple civilians were killed, and dozens more injured. Emergency services are continuing to assess the full extent of the damage.
Flights have been suspended at Imam Khomeini International Airport as a precautionary measure, and the capital remains on high alert. The strike comes just days before a scheduled round of nuclear negotiations between Iran and the United States, casting uncertainty over the future of diplomatic efforts.
Iranian leadership has vowed a swift and strategic retaliation. “Their colleagues and successors will carry on their mission without delay,” Khamenei affirmed.
