Israel Eliminates Iran's Newly Appointed Military Chief Days After His Appointment
Israel eliminated Abu al-Qasem Baba'ian, Iran's newly appointed Supreme Leader military bureau chief, just days after his appointment. Defense Minister Katz orders the IDF to "keep hunting all of them."
Abu al-Qasem Baba'ian, the newly appointed head of the Supreme Leader's military bureau, has been eliminated by Israel just days after taking the post, having replaced his predecessor, who was killed in Israel's opening strike of the current campaign.
His tenure was exceptionally brief.
Defense Minister Israel Katz was briefed on the elimination during a situation assessment held Sunday morning at the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv. According to the Defense Ministry, Katz praised the IDF for the achievement and issued a pointed directive: "Keep hunting all of them."
The assessment was attended by a senior roster of Israeli defense officials, including IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, Defense Ministry Director-General Maj. Gen. (res.) Amir Baram, Military Intelligence chief Maj. Gen. Shlomi Binder, and other senior representatives from the Mossad, Shin Bet, and additional branches of the security establishment.
On Saturday, Katz held a separate situation assessment focused on the broader war with Iran and the northern front, during which he warned Lebanon's government directly. "If the choice comes down to defending our citizens and soldiers or the state of Lebanon, we will choose our citizens and soldiers, and the Lebanese government will pay a very heavy price," he said, adding that Israel would not permit Hezbollah to operate from Lebanese territory to strike Israeli civilians or troops.
"We have no territorial claims against Lebanon," Katz stated, "but we will not allow a return to years of fire directed at the State of Israel."