Araghchi to attend OIC summit in Turkey

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei appointed Mohammad Karami as the new commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ ground forces, state media reported Thursday.

Karami previously led the Quds Headquarters of the IRGC Ground Forces in southeastern Iran.

Hezbollah issued a statement Thursday backing Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, calling threats by US and Israeli officials to kill him “foolish and reckless and will have disastrous consequences.”

“Merely uttering them is an offense to hundreds of millions of believers and those connected to Islam, and it is utterly reprehensible,” the group said. “Today, we are more determined and united around him.”

Hezbollah has not entered the fighting since Israeli forces began striking inside Iran on Friday. While the group condemned the attacks, it signaled to Beirut it would not intervene.

Late Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi’s cabinet warned Thursday of a “humiliating death” for the US president, in a statement referring to Donald Trump’s remarks about potentially targeting Iran’s Supreme Leader.

“Trump must still answer for the blood of [Revolutionary Guards Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani] and await the vengeance of the Iranian nation,” the cabinet members said.

“A humiliating death awaits him, and he will surely be destroyed by the hand of the world’s oppressed,” the statement added.

Iranian websites became inaccessible Thursday as the country’s internet shutdown stretched beyond 17 hours.

Metrics from NetBlocks confirmed a nationwide outage, saying authorities cited "Israel’s misuse of the network for military purposes."

The blackout has cut access to information for millions during a critical moment in the conflict.

Users abroad reported that all Iranian websites appeared offline, with no official explanation from Tehran.

Tehran would respond forcefully if the United States intervenes directly in support of Israel, Iran’s deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi said Thursday,

“Iran will have no other option but to use its tools to teach aggressors a lesson,” he said, according to state media.

Iran’s military command “has all necessary options on the table,” Gharibabadi added, urging Washington to stay out of the conflict.

“Our recommendation to the US is to at least stand by if they do not wish to stop Israel’s aggression,” he said, amid escalating attacks between Tehran and Tel Aviv.