Israel said it had killed a newly installed senior Iranian military official on Tuesday, just days after his predecessor was slain, further destabilizing Iran’s military chain of command as the war entered its fifth day.
Since Israel began bombing Iran on Friday, it has killed at least 11 senior generals while striking Iranian nuclear sites and missile launchers, in what it calls an effort to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.
On Tuesday morning, the Israeli military said it had killed Maj. Gen. Ali Shadmani, describing him as the most senior military commander in Iran. He was appointed to his post four days ago, replacing a general who was killed by Israel on the first day of hostilities. Iran did not immediately comment on Israel’s claim about General Shadmani. If confirmed, his death would deal yet another blow to Iran’s beleaguered military leadership.
A senior Israeli defense official said that the killing of General Shadmani reflected Israel’s decades-long effort to infiltrate Iran’s intelligence services, as well as the careless mistakes senior Iranian officials have been making as they try to flee Israeli attacks.
Later on Tuesday, the Israeli military launched more airstrikes, with dozens of aircraft bombing the Isfahan area of central Iran, targeting missile launchers, according to Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin, the Israeli military’s chief spokesman. He said in a televised briefing that Iran still had “significant capabilities that could cause serious damage.”
President Trump declared on Tuesday that “we now have complete and total control of the skies over Iran” and called for Iran’s “unconditional surrender” amid growing signs that the United States was considering joining Israel’s bombing campaign.
Military analysts have said that only the United States has the 30,000-pound bombs and B-2 stealth bombers capable of destroying Iran’s most heavily fortified nuclear enrichment site, known as Fordo, which is built into the side of a mountain.
Mr. Trump, posting on social media, also made a direct threat to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, saying that “we know exactly where” he is and calling him “an easy target.” But he said, “We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least for now.” He added, “Our patience is growing thin.”
Earlier on Tuesday, Mr. Trump said he was looking for something “better than a cease-fire” between Israel and Iran — “a real end, not a cease-fire.” Speaking to reporters on Air Force One, he insisted that Iran “give up” and abandon any effort to develop nuclear weapons. “I’m not too much in the mood to negotiate,” he said.
Concerned that the United States might be moving to join Israel’s campaign, President Emmanuel Macron of France denounced the idea of using force to topple the Iranian government.
“Does anyone think that what was done in Iraq in 2003 was a good idea?” he said to reporters in Canada, where he was attending a Group of 7 summit. “Does anyone think that what was done in Libya the previous decade was a good idea? No.”
France agrees that Iran cannot be allowed to obtain a nuclear bomb and that Israel has the right to defend itself, Mr. Macron said. But he criticized Israeli strikes on Iran’s energy infrastructure and civilian targets as destabilizing for the region.
The Israeli attacks have spurred thousands of Iranians to flee the capital, Tehran, a city of 9.5 million people. The Israeli military had issued an evacuation order for a large part of northeastern Tehran, saying it planned to target “military infrastructure” in the area.
Leili, a teacher who lives in Mazandaran Province, north of Tehran, who asked that her last name not be used, said many Iranians had been seeking refuge in the area, leading to shortages at grocery stores, where meat, chicken and cooking oil are becoming hard to find.
She said that while she had not stockpiled supplies, “many others have begun hoarding, likely driven by memories of shortages during the Iran-Iraq war and fears of future scarcity.”
Iran also fired missiles at Israel on Tuesday, although it has significantly scaled back its attacks. In the first days of the war, Iran fired up to 100 missiles in a single night, in salvos of dozens. But overnight, fewer than 30 projectiles breached Israeli airspace, the Israeli military said. An morning salvo on Tuesday included just a few missiles — far fewer than in previous waves, according to Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, an Israeli military spokesman.
The slowdown may indicate that Israeli strikes have significantly crippled Iran’s ability to launch missiles. It could also mean that Iranian leaders are conserving resources in preparation for a long conflict.
Israeli strikes have killed at least 224 people and wounded more than 1,800 others in Iran, according to the Iranian health ministry. In Israel, at least 24 people have been killed and about 600 others wounded, according to the government.
Iran has severely restricted access to the internet as part of an effort to block what it says are Israelis who have been carrying out covert operations, according to two Iranian officials, one with the telecommunication ministry. The Tasnim news agency, which is affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, said that the internet would be shut down on Tuesday night and would be replaced with an Iranian-controlled intranet.
NetBlocks, an internet monitoring group, reported a steep drop in internet traffic in Iran on Tuesday. And several Iranians across the country said in interviews that mobile data networks were down, making it impossible for many people to gain access to foreign apps and websites on their phones. Only domestic sites and apps were working.
A cyberattack disabled online transactions at a major Iranian bank, Sepah, leading to problems at gas stations and A.T.M.’s, Iranian state news outlets reported. A pro-Israel hacking group called Predatory Sparrow claimed responsibility for the attack.
The chief of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, Rafael M. Grossi, said on Tuesday that Israeli strikes on Iran’s Natanz nuclear plant had penetrated the underground site where centrifuges enrich uranium. A day earlier, he had said only aboveground damage was evident. It remains unclear how much of the equipment there was damaged or how badly.
Friedrich Merz, the German chancellor, said that Israel’s attacks were benefiting democratic countries around the world.
“This is the dirty work that Israel does for all of us,” he said in an interview with ZDF, a German television station. Iran, Mr. Merz added, has “brought death and destruction to the world with attacks, with murder and manslaughter, with Hezbollah, with Hamas.”
In a social media post on Tuesday, Vice President JD Vance hinted that the United States could step up its engagement. Mr. Vance said that Iran had no need for nuclear fuel enriched above the level needed for commercial power. Mr. Trump, he said, “has shown remarkable restraint,” but “may decide he needs to take further action to end Iranian enrichment.”
The statement added to the Trump administration’s mixed messages on the war, which have swung between calls for diplomacy and threats of escalation. Mr. Trump has long vowed to keep the United States out of foreign wars.
“It’s very puzzling,” said Shira Efron, the director of research at Israel Policy Forum, a research group based in New York. “You’re seeing him say one thing and then another.”
Reporting was contributed by Aurelien Breeden, Talya Minsberg, Leily Nikounazar, Parin Behrooz, Johnatan Reiss, Ronen Bergman, Adam Rasgon, Amelia Nierenberg and Richard Pérez-Peña.
Natan Odenheimer is a Times reporter in Jerusalem, covering Israeli and Palestinian affairs.
David E. Sanger covers the Trump administration and a range of national security issues. He has been a Times journalist for more than four decades and has written four books on foreign policy and national security challenges.
Farnaz Fassihi is the United Nations bureau chief for The Times, leading coverage of the organization, and also covers Iran and the shadow war between Iran and Israel. She is based in New York.
Michael Levenson covers breaking news for The Times from New York.
The post Israel Says It Assassinated Iran’s Most Senior Military Commander appeared first on New York Times.
