Politics
Israeli Strike Kills Yemen PM, Houthis Confirm
Yemen’s Huthi rebels on Saturday said their prime minister had been killed in an Israeli airstrike, the most senior official known to have died in a series of attacks during the Gaza war.Ahmed Ghaleb Nasser Al-Rahawi, who was appointed last year, was killed along with other officials in the Israeli attack on Thursday, the Iran-backed Huthis said.
Israel has been striking Huthi targets for months in response to missile attacks by the rebels, who claim solidarity with the Palestinians and have also been harassing shipping in the Red Sea.
“We announce the martyrdom of the fighter Ahmed Ghaleb Nasser Al-Rahawi… along with several of his ministerial colleagues, as they were targeted by the treacherous Israeli criminal enemy,” a Huthi statement said.
“Others among their companions were injured with moderate to serious wounds and are receiving medical care since Thursday afternoon,” it added.
On Thursday, Israeli forces said they “struck a Huthi terrorist regime military target”. Unsourced Yemeni media reports of Rahawi’s death were not confirmed at the time.
The Huthis called the gathering that was hit “a routine workshop organised by the government to evaluate its activities and performance over the past year”.
US-based Yemen analyst Mohammed Al Basha said the Israeli operation pointed to a change in strategy after previously targeting infrastructure such as ports and power stations.
“The strikes indicate a shift in Israeli operational focus away from transportation and energy infrastructure toward targeted assassinations of high-value personnel,” Basha, author of the Basha Report, told AFP.
It is “an escalation that, regardless of the final casualty count, is likely to shake the Houthi leadership at its core”, he added.
“This operation bears the hallmarks of a signals intelligence–driven strike, and it is possible that additional senior Huthi leaders were en route to the location.”
Rahawi had made a public appearance on Wednesday, attending an event organised by the Huthi Ministry of Endowments in Sanaa.
He came from the southern province of Abyan, which is not part of the large swathes of Yemen under Huthi control.
The rebels have traditionally reserved the premiership for southerners in an attempt to win hearts and minds in the south.
Deputy Prime Minister Mohammed Ahmed Miftah was appointed as interim prime minister following Rahawi’s death, the Huthis announced separately.
The rebel group is part of Iran’s “axis of resistance”, an anti-Israel alliance of militant groups across much of the Middle East.
A number of Iranian senior leaders, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, have embraced martyrdom in the “unprovoked and unwarranted” airstrikes by Israel and the United States.
As crowds gathered in Tehran, explosions rang out, and the Israeli military announced that it was again striking targets in the heart of the city — as more blasts were heard in Jerusalem, Riyadh, Dubai, Doha and Manama.
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian declared Khamenei’s assassination a “declaration of war against Muslims” and warned: “Iran considers it its legitimate duty and right to avenge the perpetrators and masterminds of this historic crime.”
Iranian state media have confirmed the killing of several senior figures:
1. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, supreme leader of Iran
2. Ali Shamkhani, representative of the Supreme Leader in the Supreme Defence Council
3. General Abdolrahim Mousavi, Iran’s Armed Forces chief of staff
4. Major General Mohammad Pakpour, commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC)
5. Aziz Nasirzadeh, Minister of Defence
6. Gholamreza Rezaian, police intelligence chief of Iran
Separately, the daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter of Ali Khamenei also embraced martyrdom in the US and Israeli airstrikes.
Iran’s permanent ambassador to the United Nations has vehemently denounced the fresh and unprovoked Israeli-American war on the Islamic Republic, asserting that the country will continue to act in self-defense until the end of the unlawful aggression.
Amir-Saeid Iravani made the remarks at a UN Security Council meeting on Sunday regarding the joint strikes that were launched against the country earlier on Saturday.
The nation, he stated, was facing armed aggression and a war against international law, which could not be justified by any excuse.
Referring to Iran’s decisive and ongoing retaliatory strikes, under the codename Operation True Promise 4, the envoy said it serves as a legitimate act of self-defense.
The Islamic Republic would continue to exercise its legitimate right to self-defense until the aggression ends, Iravani told the world body.
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has so far launched at least five waves of counterstrikes against numerous Israeli and American targets in response to the aggression.
IRGC has pledged to sustain the counterstrikes until the enemies’ “complete defeat,” while noting that the reprisal exceeds by far the proportions of its previous round of retaliations against Tel Aviv’s and Washington’s imposed war on the nation last June.
Addressing the same meeting, Russia’s UN envoy said Iran had been once again “stabbed in the back,” referring to the country’s coming under fresh aggression, while engaging in indirect talks with the United States aimed at resolving standing issues.
Vasily Nebenzya condemned an attack on a school in Iran that took place as part of the renewed aggression, claiming the lives of more than 100 people, calling it a sign of “unjustified aggression” by the Israeli regime and the United States against a UN member state.
He described the atrocities as “unjustifiable” and a “betrayal of diplomacy.”
- PM Modi describes accident as “deeply distressing”.
- Maharashtra CM terms it “extremely unfortunate.”
- Industrial accidents are common in India.
A blast at an explosives factory killed at least 17 people and injured 18 others on Sunday, officials in the western Indian state of Maharashtra said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the accident was “deeply distressing” and wished a speedy recovery to the survivors.
Maharashtra state chief minister Devendra Fadnavis called the incident “extremely unfortunate and tragic” in a post on X.
The accident happened in Nagpur, about 800 kilometres (500 miles) from state capital Mumbai.
“Rescue operations have been accelerated, and so far, 17 people have lost their lives,” Fadnavis said, adding 18 others were injured.
An investigation has been ordered into the incident.
On Saturday, 21 people were killed in an explosion at a firecracker factory in the southeastern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.
Industrial accidents are common in India, often due to disregard for safety requirements and lax enforcement.
Last year, a firework factory explosion in western India killed 21 people.
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