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Open-source live airline maps appeared to show almost no civilian aircraft in the skies between Israel and Tehran as the Jewish state confirmed it had begun air strikes.
Israeli military Spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a video recording posted on X:
"In response to months of continuous attacks from the regime in Iran against the State of Israel – right now the Israel Defense Forces is conducting precise strikes on military targets in Iran.
The regime in Iran and its proxies in the region have been relentlessly attacking Israel since October 7th – on seven fronts – including direct attacks from Iranian soil.
Like every other sovereign country in the world, the State of Israel has the right and the duty to respond.
Our defensive and offensive capabilities are fully mobilized.
We will do whatever necessary to defend the State of Israel and the people of Israel."
Citizens have shared images of firefighting trucks dispatched to western Tehran near Shahriar. Other photos show fires and smoke rising from various locations across Tehran.
The United States assured Saudi Arabia it is prepared to help defend the kingdom against any attack from Iran or its regional allies as oil-producing Arab states fear being drawn into a war between Iran and Israel, Bloomberg reported on Friday.
Riyadh and other Arab allies of the United States in the Persian Gulf region have been relieved to some extent after receiving what Bloomberg called a "tacit offer" presented by the Biden administration over the past few weeks.
Bloomberg did not specify whether the assurance was given during US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's trips to Saudi Arabia and Qatar earlier this week.
Blinken visited the two Arab countries following a trip to Israel, as the entire region braecs for a long-awaited Israeli response to the October 1 missile barrage Tehran launched.
Earlier this month, Iran warned its Arab neighbors that it would be "unacceptable" to allow Israel or the United States to use their airspace or bases against Iran, threatening a response if they do.
"Israel is receiving contacts and requests from (Persian) Gulf countries to inform it in advance of the expected response so that it can take precautions in the event of a counterattack," US-funded outlet Alhurra cited an Israeli source saying earlier this week.
However, Iran's exchanges with regional countries do not appear to be limited to threats, as Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi sought to also shore up support among regional nations to mitigate Israel’s actions during a recent tour of the Middle East which included visits to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Jordan, Egypt, Syria, and Iraq.
'Israel ready to attack after multiple delays'
"The Israeli military's preparations for an attack on Iran have been completed, and they are now only awaiting the political leadership's order to carry out the attack," Israel's Channel 11 reported Friday.
The report added that Israel has delayed its planned attack "several times" over the past weeks. While it said it cannot disclose the reason for delaying the response, new unverified documents, allegedly leaked from the Pentagon and circulated on social media over the past 24 hours, indicate that Israel originally planned to attack "major military facilities" in Iran on October 19, between 03:00 and 04:00, according to a report by the Israeli website Ynet.
The Israeli air force intended to use bunker-busting bombs to hit targets in Iran and electronic warfare to neutralize Iran’s air defenses in its planned attack on October 19 which was closely coordinated with the US, according to the unverified leaked documents.
If authentic, the documents suggest that Israel delayed the planned attack hours after a pro-Iran Telegram channel leaked classified Pentagon documents on the Israeli attack plan. However, it remains unclear whether the alleged October 19 attack was canceled due to the leak or for other reasons.
The FBI launched an investigation into the leak while Republican critics ripped the Biden administration for mishandling intelligence just two weeks before the November 5 elections.
The top-secret documents began circulating online on Friday after being posted on Telegram by an account called "Middle East Spectator." Dated October 15 and 16, the intelligence on Israel's attack plan was intended for viewing only by the US and its "Five Eyes" allies, which include Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.
While the timing and specifics of Israel's retaliation remain unclear, sources informed CNN last week that it is expected to take place before the US presidential election on November 5.
Previous reports from multiple news outlets indicate that Israel has assured the US it will refrain from targeting nuclear or energy infrastructure, though other reports suggest that all options are still on the table.
The Friday Prayer Imam of Kazeroun in southern Iran was shot dead on Friday, Iran’s official IRNA News reported, in the latest murder to unseat the provincial town's top cleric since the dawn of the Islamic Republic.
Mohammad Sabahi's mysterious death makes him the third Friday Imam of the relatively small town of around 100,000 people to have been killed since the 1979 Islamic revolution.
“Despite the efforts of the doctors and medical staff at Namazi Hospital in Shiraz, the Friday Imam has passed away due to the severity of his injuries,” Kazeroun’s governor, Mohammad Ali Bekhrad, told IRNA on Friday evening.
While refraining from using the word “martyred” - typically deployed when a person's death has a political or religious background - IRNA added that Sabahi was shot by an assailant after Friday prayers.
Imams are appointed to lead Friday prayers by official religious authorities ultimately led by Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei.
Conflicting reports initially emerged, with Iranian media first announcing Sabahi’s death and later describing his condition as critical following an armed attack in which the assailant committed suicide.
Bekhrad earlier denied the attack was an act of terrorism, instead suggesting that a personal conflict may have been behind the shooting.
While also refraining from using the word “martyred”, the governor told IRNA investigations into the details of the incident are ongoing.
Three slain imams
Shortly after news of the shooting broke, a popular Telegram channel claimed the assailant was a war veteran. Mehdi Mazarei, head of Kazeroun’s Martyrs Foundation, contradicted the report and warned that anyone spreading false information would face prosecution.
Mizan News, affiliated with Iran’s judiciary, also reported that initial claims identifying the assailant as a war veteran were false, saying, “this individual is not a veteran but has a criminal record.”
According to Mizan, the assailant attempted to harm a judge 20 years ago using explosives, resulting in self-inflicted injuries, and later served six years in prison for a bombing in Gachsaran in southwestern Iran as well as for weapon theft and bribery.
Sabahi previously served as the Friday Imam of Kharameh in Fars province for a decade before resuming his role in Kazeroun in November 2019.
In a similar case on May 29, 2019, Mohammad Khorsand, another Friday Imam of Kazeroun, was fatally stabbed while returning from a Ramadan prayer.
Security forces quickly apprehended a suspect named Hamid Reza Derakhshandeh, who was sentenced to death by Iran’s judiciary, with his execution confirmed and carried out by the Supreme Court within two months.
On July 31, 1981, Abdolrahim Daneshjou, then the Friday Imam of Kazeroun, was shot dead near his home after evening prayers. State sources linked this attack to members of the People's Mujahedin of Iran also known as MEK, which is now an exiled opposition group in Albania.
