Deputy Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces for Operation, Brigadier General Mahdi Rabbani, and Deputy Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces for Intelligence, Brigadier General Gholamreza Mehrabi were declared on Saturday to have been martyred in the Israeli strikes.

The Israeli regime attacked a number of residential neighborhoods of Tehran as well as military and nuclear sites in other parts of Iran in the early hours of June 13.

Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Hossein Baqeri, Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Major General Hossein Salami, Commander of Iran’s Khatam al-Anbia Central Headquarters Major General Gholam Ali Rashid, Commander of the IRGC Aerospace Force Major General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, and at least six Iranian nuclear scientists have been martyred in the strikes.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei has warned the Zionist regime that it will receive a severe punishment for the strike, saying, “With this crime, the Zionist regime has prepared for itself a bitter, painful fate, which it will definitely see.”

A video published overnight showed smoke rising over the airport.

Flights have been canceled in Iran until further notice, Iran civil aviation announced, according to state-run IRNA news agency.

The Israeli Air Force has announced it carried out a wave of strikes hitting defense arrays in Tehran overnight into Saturday.

“These strikes carry operational and national significance. We damaged – and will continue to damage – strategic sites and enemy sources of knowledge,” commanding officer of the Israeli Air Force MG Tomer Bar said in a situational assessment.

Israeli Air Force planes struck dozens of targets, including surface-to-air missile infrastructure, Bar said.

“For the first time since the beginning of the war, over 1,500 kilometers (932 miles) from Israeli territory, the IAF struck defense arrays in the area of Tehran,” he added.

He called on the UN Security Council to “strongly condemn” the “illegal aggression” by the Israeli regime and demanded urgent and concrete measures by the world body to hold the regime accountable and prevent further destabilization of international peace and security.

Israel launched a series of premeditated and coordinated attacks early on Friday, targeting multiple Iranian cities, including nuclear facilities and vital civilian infrastructure.

The envoy described the Natanz nuclear site in central Iran’s Isfahan province – under full International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards – as a primary target.

“These criminal and savage attacks have killed at least 78 people, including senior military officials and innocent civilians, among them women and children, with over 320 wounded,” he told the gathering.

Iravani described the latest strikes as deliberate massacres and acts of terrorism, violating international law and human conscience.

The ambassador criticized the UN Security Council and UN nuclear agency for their inaction in response to Iran’s repeated warnings about Israeli threats to its nuclear facilities, accusing them of emboldening the regime to escalate aggression and cross red lines.

Iravani emphasized the potential catastrophic radiological consequences of attacks on safeguarded nuclear sites, warning that the effects could extend far beyond Iran’s borders.

He said Israel’s aggression also violated the sovereignty of Iraq, whose airspace was used for the aggression, with the Iraqi permanent mission to the UN formally protesting the breach.

The ambassador held the United States responsible for enabling the Israeli strikes, citing Washington’s intelligence, political support, and weapons transfers.

“The complicity of the United States in these terrorist acts is undeniable,” he said.

Iran reaffirmed its inherent right to self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter.

Recalling Security Council Resolution 487 (1981), which condemned Israel’s previous attack on Iraq’s Osirak nuclear reactor, Iravani called on the council to enforce international law and hold Israel accountable. He stressed that decades of inaction and double standards have emboldened Israel’s aggressive conduct.

“Any failure to act now,” he warned, “would signify the collapse of the international system and invite chaos.”