By: Fern Sidman

As the regional confrontation between Israel and Iran accelerates into an uncharted and perilous phase, The New York Times reported on Friday that Ismail Qaani, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force and one of the most powerful men in Iran’s military establishment, has been killed in an Israeli airstrike. Qaani, who succeeded Qassem Soleimani after his assassination by the United States in 2020, was the architect of Iran’s vast proxy network across the Middle East, directing operations from Syria to Yemen, Lebanon to Iraq.

According to the report in The New York Times and corroborated by Iranian media outlets, Qaani was eliminated during a precision Israeli strike in Tehran, as part of Israel’s intensifying offensive campaign aimed at dismantling Iran’s nuclear and military capabilities. The implications of Qaani’s death are profound. As head of the Quds Force, he oversaw billions of dollars in logistical, military, and intelligence support to groups such as Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis. His elimination represents a severe strategic blow to the Iranian regime’s ability to project asymmetric power across the region.

The Israeli Air Force, operating with an unprecedented degree of operational tempo, continues to strike strategic Iranian targets, with recent waves of attacks reportedly directed at southeast Tehran. Iranian state-affiliated media outlets report that airstrikes are now underway on the Fordo nuclear facility, one of Iran’s most fortified and concealed uranium enrichment sites, long believed to be central to Tehran’s covert push for a nuclear weapon. Fordo, deeply embedded beneath a mountain, has been considered nearly impervious to aerial bombardment—until now.

Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, the newly appointed Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), addressed the nation and the military establishment during a high-level strategic assessment. “We are continuing with full force, at a high pace, in order to meet the goals we have set for ourselves,” Zamir said. He emphasized that Israel is simultaneously pursuing both defensive and offensive operations, signaling a coordinated effort to shield Israeli civilians from expected retaliation while continuing to degrade Iran’s military assets.

“There will be more difficult moments, and we must be prepared for the range of scenarios we have trained for,” Zamir warned, suggesting that Israel anticipates the possibility of a large-scale escalation—including missile and drone retaliation by Iran or its proxies.

The ongoing campaign—named by Israeli officials as Operation Rising Lion—has already involved hundreds of air sorties, with the IDF striking high-value assets including nuclear research centers, missile development sites, and homes and headquarters of senior Iranian military and scientific personnel. The New York Times reported that Israeli officials have defined their objective as a “strategic rollback” of Iran’s military and nuclear ambitions.

In a significant move, the strikes against Fordo represent a sharp escalation in Israel’s willingness to confront Iran’s nuclear infrastructure head-on. Fordo, along with the Natanz and Arak sites, forms the backbone of Iran’s nuclear enrichment and research program. A successful Israeli attack on the underground site would not only delay Iran’s nuclear timetable but also serve as a demonstrable warning to Tehran’s leadership that no target is beyond reach.

Qaani’s death, meanwhile, is reverberating across the Middle East. As The New York Times report noted, the Quds Force commander was deeply involved in planning and financing proxy attacks against Israel, including support to Hamas during the October 7 massacre in southern Israel and subsequent rocket barrages from Lebanon and Syria. Israeli security officials had long viewed Qaani as a “living symbol” of Iran’s expansionist ambitions and its direct hand in orchestrating anti-Israel terror.

International observers, including analysts cited by The New York Times, now warn that Qaani’s assassination could provoke a new wave of retaliatory strikes—not only from Iran but from its affiliated armed movements throughout the region. Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, and pro-Iranian militias in Iraq and Syria are reportedly on heightened alert.

Inside Israel, civil defense protocols remain in full effect. Air raid sirens have continued to blare across the country, and the public has been ordered to remain near protected shelters. Meanwhile, diplomatic efforts to de-escalate the conflict have made little headway, as Western capitals attempt to balance concern over Israeli preemptive strikes with alarm at Iran’s growing nuclear enrichment levels, which have reportedly approached weapons-grade.

While Iran has vowed to respond “at a time and place of its choosing,” the sustained tempo of Israeli operations suggests that Jerusalem is attempting to reshape the strategic equation in its favor—before Iran can marshal a coordinated retaliation.

As the world watches this confrontation unfold, The New York Times report noted that Israeli officials remain adamant: the stakes are existential. “We cannot leave this threat for the next generation,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a prior address. “If we don’t act now, there won’t be a next generation.”

In the shadow of Fordo’s underground tunnels and amid the ruins of Tehran’s military compounds, Israel is making it clear—this is a war it intends not just to fight, but to win.