Iran: Eight IRGC members killed in Israeli strikes

At least eight members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) were killed in Israeli air strikes targeting the city of Khomein in central Iran, according to an official statement released by the IRGC.

Thus, six IRGC servicemen and two members of the Basij paramilitary force died on the morning of June 16 while "defending the city of Khomein" and "fulfilling their mission to safeguard the Islamic Revolution and protect our beloved Iran", Caliber.Az reports per Iranian media.

The IRGC condemned the attacks, accusing Israel of "destabilising provocations", and said that the attempted strikes were "successfully repelled thanks to the timely and decisive actions" of its forces. There has been no immediate comment from the Israeli military.

The incident comes amid heightened tensions following a series of cross-border exchanges and a broader regional escalation between Iran and Israel.

Meanwhile, according to a senior Iranian commander, Iran’s Operation True Promise III was launched while Israel was at the height of its defensive alert. In remarks published on June 16, Brigadier General Yadollah Javani, Deputy Commander for Political Affairs of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), said the latest wave of attacks came approximately 20 hours after what he described as the enemy’s initial assault.

“Approximately 20 hours after the enemy’s initial assault, Operation True Promise III was conducted while the Zionist regime was at the peak of defensive readiness,” Javani stated.

“Having anticipated Iran’s potential response, they had activated all their air defence systems and even secured airspace control over neighbouring countries.”

He accused Israel of launching “terrorist acts amid diplomatic engagements,” and claimed that Israeli officials had wrongly assumed Iran’s response capabilities had been crippled by prior attacks.

“They believed their strikes on Iran's military and missile sites had completely destroyed the Islamic Republic's defensive and offensive capabilities, leaving Iran unable to execute operations on par with True Promise I and II,” he said.

Javani emphasised the variety of weapons used during the operation, pointing to the successful deployment of new drone technology. “Official reports confirm that in addition to long-range ballistic missiles, we successfully deployed new drones such as the ‘Arash’ into the airspace of the Israeli-occupied territories.”

According to him, the operation’s precision and scale exceeded expectations in both Israel and the United States. “This unprecedented diversity of projectiles – never before deployed with such precision into the occupied territories – left the enemy in utter shock,” he noted.

“The operation was so powerful that it went beyond what even Israeli authorities and US President Donald Trump anticipated.”

Javani also alleged that while Iran has been transparent in publicising images of its fallen personnel, Israel has worked to suppress information.

“While Iran openly shares images and news of its martyrs and wounded, the Zionist regime has resorted to military statements, intelligence agency bulletins, and even threats against civilians to prevent documentation—all in an effort to conceal the true scale of damage, destruction, and casualties.”

“Yet, given the operation's massive scope, they've been forced to issue limited reports to their own public,” he added.

By Aghakazim Guliyev