Iran appoints new army chief, IRGC commander amid ongoing Israeli strikes

TEHRAN: Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has announced the appointment of new chiefs for the Iranian Army and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), following the killing of senior Iranian military leaders in Israeli airstrikes.

According to Mehr News Agency, Ali Khamenei appointed Commander Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi as the new Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces after the chief of staff Major General Mohammad Hossein Bagheri was killed in an Israeli airstrike early on Friday.

Brigadier General Mohammad Pakpour has been named the new Commander-in-Chief of the IRGC. He succeeds Major General Hossein Salami, who was also killed in the Israeli strike.

Ayatollah Khamenei further appointed Major General Ali Shademani as the new Commander of the Khatam al-Anbia Headquarters, following the killing of Major General Gholam Ali Rashid in the Israel attack.

The Israeli regime launched a series of military strikes on Iran overnight on Friday, in what is being described as one of the most direct and deadly confrontations between the two countries in recent history.

Meanwhile, Israeli forces launched a renewed attack on Tabriz, the northwestern city of Iran, ARY News reported quoting Iran’s Tasnim news agency.

The city is currently under “severe attack” by Israel, according to Iranian media reports. The attack took place at 12:30 pm local time on Friday.

Images released in the social networks show thick plumes of smoke rising into the sky from the airport near Tabriz, the media outlet reported.

The news agency claimed that the site that has been targeted is believed to be Shahid Fakuri military airbase that accommodates fighter aircraft.

The strike on Tabriz is an expansion of Israeli operations beyond the initial targets in Tehran and other locations hit earlier Friday.