War against Iran: at least 430 people killed, 3,500 injured by Israel

With more than a week since the war begun between Iran and Israel, least 430 people were killed and 3,500 were wounded in Iran, Iranian state-run Nour News reported on Saturday, citing the country’s health ministry. Israel recently targetted a military installation in Shiraz but no casualities have been reported as per the ISNA agency.

Earlier today, 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.

Iran, Israel launch new attacks after Tehran rules out nuclear talks

There was no confirmation from the IRGC on the killing of the two commanders.

The Quds Force built up a network of Arab allies known as the Axis of Resistance, establishing Hezbollah in Lebanon in 1982 and supporting the Palestinian militant Islamist group Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

But the Iran-aligned network has suffered major blows over the last two years, as Israeli offensives since Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel have weakened both the Palestinian group and Hezbollah.

Katz said Izadi financed and armed Hamas during the initial attacks, describing the commander’s killing as a “major achievement for Israeli intelligence and the Air Force”.

Izadi was sanctioned by the U.S. and Britain over what they said were his ties to Hamas and Palestinian militant faction Islamic Jihad, which also took part in the October 7 attacks.

Putin says Russia has told Israel there’s no evidence Iran wants nuclear weapons

Russia has repeatedly told Israel that there is no evidence Iran is aiming to get nuclear weapons, Sky News Arabia on Saturday quoted Russian President Vladimir Putin as saying in an interview.

“Russia, as well as the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency), has never had any evidence that Iran is preparing to obtain nuclear weapons, as we have repeatedly put the Israeli leadership on notice,” Sky News Arabia quoted Putin as saying.

Russia is ready to support Iran in developing a peaceful nuclear programme, Putin was quoted as saying, adding that Iran has the right to do so.

Speaking at an economic forum in St. Petersburg on Friday, Putin said Russia was sharing its ideas on how to stop the bloodshed in the Iran-Israel conflict with both sides. However, he did not give details of those ideas.