TEHRAN, Iran: The newly appointed commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Mohammad Pakpour, threatened on Friday to open “the gates of hell” in retaliation for Israel’s attacks that killed his predecessor, Hossein Salami.
“In retribution for the blood of our fallen commanders, scientists and citizens, the gates of hell will soon be opened upon this child-killing regime,” Pakpour said of Israel in a message carried by state news agency IRNA.
Meanwhile, the UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting at 1900 GMT following Israel’s wave of airstrikes, the current presidency Guyana announced. The meeting was requested by Iran, and supported by Russia and China, a diplomatic source told AFP.
Iran said Israel’s deadly strikes on its military and nuclear facilities were a “declaration of war” and called on the UNSC to act.
Israel launched major strikes against Iran earlier today, saying it targeted nuclear facilities, ballistic missile factories, and military commanders, and that this was the start of a “prolonged operation to prevent Tehran from building an atomic weapon”.
Iran promised a harsh response, and the Israeli military said Iran launched around 100 drones, with air defences intercepting them outside Israeli territory.
