War Could Decide Future Of Iran’s Islamic Republic, Says Netanyahu

Authorities said seven of the suspects had been tasked with gathering intelligence on Qatar’s vital and military facilities, while three others were assigned to carry out sabotage operations and had received drone training.

Officials said the operation led to the seizure of information related to sensitive sites and facilities, including coordinates, as well as communication devices and technical equipment.

Qatari authorities said the suspects confessed during interrogations to links with the IRGC and to receiving espionage and sabotage assignments.

The Israeli military said that since early Saturday thousands of munitions had been launched towards Iran and more than 700 operational flights conducted over Iranian territory.

An Israeli military official told the Wall Street Journal that the Israeli and US militaries had spent thousands of hours in recent months gathering intelligence and compiling an extensive list of targets.

The joint strikes have resulted in the deaths of several senior Iranian officials, including Ali Khamenei.

In response, Tehran has launched a series of drone and missile attacks against Israel, US military bases in the region and several Gulf countries.

The images indicate that several buildings within the compound were either damaged or destroyed.

Earlier, Reuters reported, citing sources, that Khamenei and Masoud Pezeshkian were among the intended targets of US and Israeli attacks. The outcome of the strikes remains unclear.

Tasnim News Agency, which is affiliated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, said President Pezeshkian is in good health. A source told Reuters that Khamenei is no longer in Tehran and has been moved to a secure location.

Tehran said Saturday’s attacks violated Iran’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity and were contrary to the United Nations Charter.

The ministry said the armed forces of the Islamic Republic would defend the country using all available capabilities and resources.

In its statement, the ministry also called on the United Nations Security Council to take immediate action in response to the attacks and urged the international community to condemn them.

The statement added that, at what it described as a decisive moment in history, Iran’s armed forces would not hesitate to defend the country and that Iranians would not surrender in the face of aggression.

Referring to the performance, Solangi wrote that Kabul had been a hub of culture and the arts before the mujahideen and later the Taliban took control of Afghanistan.

Mehdi Hasan, widely known as the “King of Ghazal” in Pakistan, was a celebrated singer whose popularity extended beyond Pakistan to India and Afghanistan. The presidential spokesperson referred to one of Hassan’s concerts held in Kabul during the reign of King Zahir Shah. During the monarchy, Kabul was a gathering place for prominent Indian and Pakistani artists.

Hassan performed in Afghanistan in 1960, during Zahir Shah’s rule, and also sang in Persian.

Posting on X on Saturday alongside a clip of the concert, Solangi wrote that there was a time when Kabul was a centre of culture and music, noting that the ghazal performance by Mehdi Hassan took place in the city.

He added that the concert occurred long before what he described as US-funded mujahideen came to power, and before the Taliban seized Afghanistan and turned it into a "big torture camp."

Both the mujahideen and the Taliban have, at different times, received support from Pakistan.

The Taliban consider music forbidden under their interpretation of Islamic law and have banned the broadcast of music in media and public places. Since returning to power, they have destroyed thousands of musical instruments during their second period of rule.