Reports indicate that Major-General, Hossein Salami was martyred in Israel’s attack on the IRGC headquarters, where other officials are also likely to have been targeted. The Israeli strikes targeting Iran’s nuclear facilities and other military targets will bring additional complexity to a region that’s already on fire.

The United States (US) has denied involvement in the attack; however, Iran says Washington will bear legal responsibility for any Israeli attack. A statement from US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio said Israel had advised the US that they believed the action was necessary for its self-defence, so Washington did have a heads-up while Israel took unilateral action.

He said President Donald Trump and the administration had taken all necessary steps to protect US forces and remained in close contact with their regional partners. Rubio, who is also the Acting National Security Advisor, also warned Iran that it should not target US interests or personnel.

It is also unclear if the US-Iranian talks towards a new nuclear deal for sanctions relief would go ahead in Oman on Sunday, but they did appear to be increasingly unlikely.

--SABC--