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Israeli Air Force (IAF) jets dropped more than 1,200 munitions on Iran in the first 24 hours of Operation "Roaring Lion," the Israeli military said Sunday, as Iran's armed forces confirmed that four of its most senior military officials were killed in the strikes, including the chief of general staff, while being targeted during a Defense Council meeting.
Israel also hacked a popular Iranian prayer app to send messages urging Revolutionary Guard members to defect, in what analysts described as a multi-domain campaign combining kinetic strikes, intelligence operations, and psychological warfare, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported.
Iran's armed forces confirmed Sunday that four senior military leaders were killed while attending a meeting of the Defense Council, Fars News Agency reported:
Armed Forces Chief of General Staff Abdolrahim Mousavi, Revolutionary Guard Corps Commander Mohammed Pakpour, Defense Council Secretary Ali Shamkhani, and Defense Minister Amir Nasirzadeh were all killed in the strikes.
Iranian authorities had earlier confirmed the deaths of Shamkhani and Pakpour separately. Together with the killing of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, confirmed by Iranian state television, the strikes have eliminated a substantial portion of Iran's senior military and political command structure.
Iran declared a 40-day mourning period and named an interim council until a successor to Khamenei is chosen.
Israeli Chief of General Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir revealed Sunday that he had visited Hatzerim Air Base earlier in the week to assess air force readiness ahead of Operation Roaring Lion.
"We demonstrated our impressive capabilities. I think the air force has shown the most impressive performance here," Zamir said.
"We are in close cooperation with our most important and greatest partner—the United States of America," he added.
"We are operating in cooperation with CENTCOM and AFCENT, and there is indeed tremendous power here," Zamir said, referring to U.S. Central Command and Air Forces Central Command.
Israel hacked a popular Iranian prayer and calendar app, BadeSaba Calendar, to send notifications urging Iran's military personnel to "defect from the regime and join a fight to liberate the country," The Wall Street Journal reported.
British author and political commentator Douglas Murray told CBS News that the tactic was familiar. "It's a tactic that the Israelis have used elsewhere. They've used it in Gaza. They've used it against Hezbollah in Lebanon," Murray said.
"The message itself is simply reiterating what President Trump said in his late-night message, which is to request that the Revolutionary Guards, the Basij, and others put down their weapons," Murray added.
The hack adds to Mossad's earlier Farsi-language Telegram channel, urging Iranian citizens to share photographs and videos with Israeli intelligence.
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