The United States (US) has destroyed the headquarters of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) while reporting its first military deaths in the ongoing campaign against Tehran.
“America has the most powerful military on earth, and the IRGC no longer has a headquarters,” said CENTCOM.
As missiles continued to rain on Tehran, President Donald Trump told the Daily Mail that the war could last a month, adding, “It’s always been a four week process.”
The US-Israeli operation began Saturday with bombing that killed Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, prompting retaliatory missile and drone attacks across the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, and Israel.
Iran has remained publicly defiant. Ali Larijani, head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said:
“Today we will hit them with a force that they have never experienced before.”
President Masoud Pezeshkian described the killing of Khamenei as a “declaration of war against Muslims,” adding: “Iran considers it its legitimate duty and right to avenge the perpetrators and masterminds of this historic crime.”
Israel described Khamenei’s death as a “first step,” with military spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani claiming the operation “eliminated 40 senior commanders, including Khamenei, in one minute.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that attacks “will only escalate in the days ahead,” while mobilizing around 100,000 reservists and raising military readiness on multiple fronts.
The Pentagon reported: “Three US service members have been killed in action and five are seriously wounded,” adding that several others had minor shrapnel injuries and concussions. “Major combat operations continue and our response effort is ongoing.”
In the Gulf, Iran’s retaliatory strikes have killed at least four people and wounded dozens. The UAE announced it is withdrawing its ambassador from Iran and closing its embassy.
In Iran, the Red Crescent reported that strikes killed 201 people and injured hundreds, including top officials Ali Shamkhani and General Mohammad Pakpour.
An interim leadership council, led by Ayatollah Alireza Arafi and President Pezeshkian, has been named to govern Iran while a permanent successor to Khamenei is chosen.
One Tehran resident said, “We all realized that there is no way, absolutely no way, to reform this regime except through foreign intervention.”
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