Israeli warplanes struck and killed three Iranian commanders, Israel’s defense ministry said Saturday, including the head of the force that supports the Palestinian group Hamas and other proxy militias around the Middle East.
The reported killing of the commanders expanded Israel’s tally of assassinated Iranian officials in the nine days of war between the two countries. Israel identified the commander of the force that coordinates with proxy militias as Mohammed Said Izadi, and said he was killed in an assault on the holy city of Qum.
The new attacks came amid fears that the war could expand with the involvement of the United States, a prospect that President Trump has kept vague, leaving the world guessing his intentions.
Mr. Trump was scheduled to travel late Saturday afternoon from his golf club in Bedminster, N.J., to Washington, where he was to meet with his national security team in the evening and then again on Sunday. The president typically spends both weekend days out of town at one of his properties.
Before Mr. Trump’s return to the White House, flight tracker data suggested multiple B-2 military aircraft had taken off from a Midwestern military base. Defense analysts took note of flight movements amid the president’s deliberations about whether to join Israel’s efforts to destroy Iran’s nuclear sites. Only Washington possesses the 30,000-pound bomb many consider essential to an air assault on Fordo, a deeply buried nuclear complex — and the aircraft, the B-2, capable of delivering the munition.
The movement of the B-2s, however, did not mean a final decision had been made about whether to strike. It is not unusual to shift military assets into position to provide options to the president and military commanders even if they are not ultimately deployed.
European foreign ministers met with Iranian officials in Geneva on Friday in an effort to forestall a broadening of the war, but the talks ended with no signs of a breakthrough.
Speaking on Friday, Mr. Trump was dismissive of the meeting in Geneva. “Iran didn’t want to speak to Europe,” he said. “They want to speak to us. Europe is not going to be able to help.”
The daily barrages of missiles and drones fired by Israel and Iran have left hundreds of people dead. Iran on Saturday fired additional ballistic missiles and launched drones into Israeli territory.
In all, Iran’s health ministry said more than 400 Iranians, including 54 women and children, had been killed since Israel began its attacks, and at least 3,056 others wounded. In Israel, at least 29 people have been killed and about 900 injured in Iranian strikes.
Mr. Trump has said he will decide within the next two weeks whether to attack Iran. Israel hopes that the United States will join the military campaign — particularly in attacking Fordo, the Iranian nuclear site ensconced deep in a mountain.
Seeking to provide a diplomatic off-ramp for Iran, European governments have urged Tehran to resume direct talks with the United States over Iran’s nuclear program. Iran’s top diplomat, Abbas Araghchi, said Iran would consider fully re-engaging in diplomacy only “once the aggressor was held accountable for the crimes committed,” suggesting the negotiations were unlikely to move ahead unless Israel ceased its offensive.
The killing of Mr. Izadi, the Iranian commander, is the latest sign of Israel’s capabilities in identifying the whereabouts of top Iranian leaders. During nine days of war, Israel has killed the commander in chief of Iran’s military and other top-ranking generals, nuclear scientists and officials. The Israeli military on Saturday said its forces also had killed two commanders in the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, one who led and coordinated drone launches, the military said, and the other responsible for weapons supplies.
Mr. Izadi was a longtime target of Israeli intelligence and one of the few people who knew in advance about Hamas’s plan to launch the surprise attack in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 that precipitated the war in Gaza, The New York Times reported last year.
Israeli officials said Mr. Izadi had led the Palestinian affairs branch in the Quds Force, the arm of the Revolutionary Guards responsible for foreign operations. Israel said it had struck an apartment where Mr. Izadi was staying in Qum, a holy city in central Iran, overnight between Friday and Saturday.
There was no immediate comment from Iran.
Iran has long backed a network of militias across the Middle East in an attempt to extend its power and influence across the region and menace its enemy, Israel. They include Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis, who control parts of Yemen.
In 2019, the United States imposed sanctions on Mr. Izadi, saying he had provided millions of dollars to Hamas. Britain did the same four years later to counter what it called “unprecedented threats from the Iranian regime.”
Since the war in Gaza began, Mr. Izadi had remained in direct contact with Hamas’s top leaders and sought to aid them by transferring equipment and funds into the territory, according to two Israeli defense officials. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
Last year, as Israeli attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon intensified, Mr. Izadi left his longtime base in that country for Iran.
He eventually wound up in a safe house belonging to the Revolutionary Guards military force in Qum, the two officials said — the same apartment where, the Israeli military said, he was killed overnight.
Maggie Haberman, Erika Solomon and Ismaeel Naar contributed reporting.
Ronen Bergman is a staff writer for The New York Times Magazine, based in Tel Aviv.
Aaron Boxerman is a Times reporter covering Israel and Gaza. He is based in Jerusalem.
Thomas Fuller, a Page One Correspondent for The Times, writes and rewrites stories for the front page.
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