ISRAEL ELIMINATES SAEED IZADI

Iran and Palestine suffered a setback after Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Saturday that the military has killed a veteran commander in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s overseas arm, in a strike in an apartment in Iran’s Qom province. The commander, Saeed Izadi, led the Palestine Corps of the overseas arm, or Quds Force. The reported elimination occurs in the midst of escalating tensions between Iran and Israel, following a series of retaliatory strikes in the past. The Israel military later said it killed a second commander of the Guard’s overseas arm, who it identified as Benham Shariyari, during a strike on his vehicle overnight in western Tehran. Benham was responsible for all weapons transfers from the Iranian regime to its proxies across the Middle East. Shariyari supplied missiles and rockets launched at Israel to Hezbollah, Hamas and Yemen’s Houthis.

 The Quds Force built up a network of Arab allies known as the Axis of Resistance, establishing Hezbollah in Lebanon in 1982 and supporting the Palestinian militant Islamist group Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The Iran-aligned network has suffered major blows over the last two years, as Israel offensives since Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel have weakened both the Palestinian group and Hezbollah. Katz said Izadi financed and armed Hamas during the initial attacks, describing the commander’s killing as a major achievement for Israel intelligence and the Air Force. Izadi was sanctioned by the U.S. and Britain over what they said were his ties to Hamas and Palestinian militant faction Islamic Jihad, which also took part in the October 7 attacks. The Islamic Republic viewed Saeed Izadi as a knowledgeable figure on Palestinian affairs.