The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) introduced on Saturday that that they had killed Behnam Shahriyari, the commander of the Quds Force’s Weapons Transfer Unit inside Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Alongside him, Saeed Izadi, a senior IRGC commander and head of the Quds Force’s Palestine Corps, was additionally killed, IDF mentioned. As per Israel, Shahriyari was accountable for all weapons transfers from the Iranian regime to its proxies throughout the Middle East, immediately aiding efforts to destroy Israel.In a press release, the IDF mentioned Shahriyari “was eliminated more than 1,000 km from Israel while traveling in western Iran,” and described the operation as a significant blow to Iranian-backed terrorist networks. “Shahriyari also commanded the transfer of hundreds of millions of dollars annually to various terrorist organizations. Furthermore, he led the extensive effort to finance and arm these terrorist organizations—an effort that has resulted in the deaths and injuries of many Israeli civilians and soldiers,” the assertion added.Shahriyari headed the IRGC’s clandestine Unit 190, lengthy suspected of smuggling superior weapons to Hezbollah, Hamas, and Yemen’s Houthi rebels. Israel has reportedly been focusing on him since 2009. The IDF said that Shahriyari “worked directly with the Hezbollah and Hamas terror organizations, as well as with the Houthi regime and other groups,” and that he had overseen the distribution of “numerous missiles and rockets that were fired at Israeli territory during the war.” His dying, the IDF added, is a “severe blow” to the aptitude of hostile forces to regroup and rearm following sustained Israeli assaults.While Izadi was killed in a separate airstrike in the Iranian metropolis of Qom. (*7*) the IDF mentioned. He was described as “one of the architects” of Hamas’ October 7, 2023, bloodbath and as a key liaison between Tehran and Hamas. According to the IDF, Izadi maintained direct contact with Hamas commanders, funneled monetary assist to the group, and coordinated Iranian army technique to destabilise Israel by way of a number of fronts.“Izadi was one of the founders and leading figures behind the Iranian regime’s plan to destroy Israel,” the IDF mentioned. That plan allegedly concerned a two-section offensive: first, a widespread missile barrage launched by Iranian proxies, adopted by a mass floor invasion by militants from Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, and the West Bank.Israeli defence minister Israel Katz known as the operation “a major achievement for Israeli intelligence and the Air Force,” and credited Izadi with arming Hamas forward of the October 7 assault that launched the continuing struggle in Gaza. Iranian media, whereas confirming Israeli strikes in Qom and different cities, initially omitted point out of Izadi’s dying, as a substitute reporting civilian casualties, together with a youngster.The twin strikes come amid heightened tensions and ongoing hostilities between Israel and Iran. As Israel continues its air marketing campaign focusing on IRGC figures and nuclear infrastructure, Tehran has responded with waves of missile and drone assaults. Israeli authorities say greater than 450 missiles have been launched at their territory, prompting air raid sirens throughout Tel Aviv and different cities.While Iran insists its nuclear programme stays peaceable, Israeli officers declare their current strikes have delayed Iran’s nuclear ambitions by at the very least two to 3 years.
