Iranian Quds Force Commander Killed as Tehran Again Warns of Wider War

Arab media reported today (Thursday) that Iranian Gen. Hossein Zarifi, a member of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was killed yesterday in clashes with regime opponents in Sistan Province in southeastern Iran. His intelligence officer, Ahmad Kharati Zariati, was also killed alongside him.

According to reports in Iran, the battle took place near the border with Pakistan against a cell of armed Baloch groups. At least 13 additional Iranian security personnel were wounded in the exchange of fire. Zarifi commanded the “Shahid Sajad” operations base in the province. His death comes amid escalating security tensions in the area, after several additional battles with armed groups in recent days in which members of the Revolutionary Guards were killed.

Some reports indicate that the general was killed in a planned ambush set by armed Sunni Baloch militants or separatists operating in the area. In Iran, the attackers were described as “mercenary terrorists backed by the enemy.”

Meanwhile, senior Iranian official Rahim Safavi, the military and security adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, issued a new threat: “If the Americans and Israel attack us, the war front will expand.” Referring to the escalation in Yemen, he added: “For more than a hundred years, the Yemeni people have stood against every invading force that tried to harm their integrity. The Houthis have objectives and a strategy. They have made significant progress in weapons production. Connecting the Persian Gulf to the Red Sea, and the Strait of Hormuz to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, will change the face of the campaign. If the Americans launch a new war, a new front may open against them in the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.”

At the same time, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said today that he changed the text of the speech he had planned to deliver at the UN General Assembly following the speech by U.S. President Donald Trump. According to him, “We prepared a speech for the General Assembly, but after listening to Trump’s speech, we departed from the prepared remarks in order to address the reality imposed by the United States. The United States acts contrary to laws and humanitarian frameworks, and does nothing but use force and carry out actions that run counter to the values of humanity.”

As a reminder, Trump said in his speech regarding the war against Iran: “There is no better example of danger than the Islamic Republic of Iran. For 51 years, the fanatical Iranian Islamic regime has ruled through blood and mass murder, spreading death, destruction and chaos throughout the Middle East and beyond. They were the bully of the Middle East, but they are no longer the bully.”

Trump added: “From the first day I entered the political arena, I was determined. I will never allow Iran to have nuclear weapons. When I took office last year, I immediately opened negotiations with Iran. I offered them full economic cooperation in exchange for ending their nuclear program and support for terrorism, but they refused. They refused completely. That was a big mistake.” He also said, “I have a big decision to make: whether to destroy Iran.”