Israeli media sources and Iranian state media both confirmed late Sunday that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had succeeded in killing Iran’s intelligence chief and his deputy, a major blow to the regime.
The fact that Israel was able to locate and to eliminate the highest officials in Iran’s intelligence hierarchy suggests an unprecedented depth of intelligence penetration; the entire regime may be compromised.
The Times of Israel reported: “Iranian state media officially confirms that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ intelligence chief, Brig. Gen. Mohammad Kazemi and his deputy Hassan Mohaqiq were killed in an Israeli strike today.”
There were also reports that Israel had struck the headquarters of the Basij, the paramilitary force that has suppressed popular uprisings in the past, potentially opening the way for citizens to rise up again.
The IDF also said it had conducted strikes “on infrastructure belonging to the Quds Force, the IRGC [Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, an elite terrorist force], and the Iranian military in Tehran,” as well as “numerous weapons production sites across Iran.”
Iran managed to fire dozens of ballistic missiles at Israel on Sunday, but none did significant damage.
Israel has near-complete freedom of operation above Iranian territory, as the regime’s air defenses have been almost completely destroyed.
There were anecdotal reports and videos on social media suggesting that residents of Tehran are fleeing the capital.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of Trump 2.0: The Most Dramatic ‘First 100 Days’ in Presidential History, available for Amazon Kindle. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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