Iran begins mourning Khamenei and hits U.S. sites in the Gulf as Israel targets Tehran’s new leadership

The Israel Defense Forces have killed the highest-ranking commander of Iran’s Quds Force, an IDF spokesperson said.

The IDF killed Davoud Alizadeh, responsible for Iranian activity in Lebanon, Avichay Adraee said. The Quds Force is the Islamic Revolutionary Guard’s force that handles Iran’s relationship with regional militias.

“He instructed Hezbollah to attack Israel in defense of Iran, rather than in defense of the Lebanese state and its citizens,” Adraee said on X.

Operatives working for Iran’s government have 24 hours to leave Lebanon, Adraee said. He said Israel will not tolerate “representatives of the Iranian terrorist regime in Lebanon” any longer, at least after that 24-hour stretch is up.

“There will be no safe haven for representatives of the Iranian regime in Lebanon, and the IDF will target them wherever they are found,” Adraee said.