Iran appoints new commander of IRGC aerospace force

An Iranian military spokesman said on Saturday that Israeli electronic interference was responsible for some Iranian missiles striking residential areas during the attack on Israel.

Brigadier General Abolfazl Shekarchi, spokesman for Iran’s Armed Forces General Staff, said the missile strikes were intended to hit military targets. However, he said Israeli electronic countermeasures disrupted their course.

“If some of our missiles hit residential areas, it was because Israel created interference to prevent the missiles from striking military targets,” Shekarchi was quoted as saying by Iranian state media.

He added that “a number of these missiles were diverted to other areas under these jamming conditions.”

Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz warned Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei that "Tehran will burn" if it keeps firing missiles at Israeli civilians.

"The Iranian dictator is turning the citizens of Iran into hostages and bringing to reality the fact that they, and in particular the residents of Tehran, will pay a heavy price for the criminal harm to the citizens of Israel. If Khamenei continues to fire missiles at the Israeli home front - Tehran will burn," Katz said in a statement.

An Israeli airstrike on Saturday morning hit a site near the city of Asadabad in Iran’s western Hamadan province, killing two emergency workers and wounding five others, Iranian officials said.

Hamzeh Amraei, a senior local official, said the victims were part of an emergency response team caught in the strike.

Israel’s N12 News earlier reported the strike targeted ballistic missile launchers in the area believed to pose a threat to Israel.

The deputy political and security governor of Hamadan told Tasnim News Agency that five people were killed in the attack. He added there have been no reports of further strikes on Noje Airbase or Sobashi radar installations.

Kazem Alamdari, an Iranian sociologist and author, told Iran International that a portion of Iranian society has expressed satisfaction over the deaths of certain senior government officials, viewing them as perpetrators of state violence.

“There is a segment of society that feels a sense of relief over the killing of officials who have committed crimes,” Alamdari said.

“In contrast, others believe that the country is under foreign attack and that, in such circumstances, one must stand in defense of the homeland and its people.”