Srinagar, Mar 20 — Iran on Friday confirmed that Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) spokesman General Ali Mohammad Naeini has been killed in an Israeli-American missile strike, as hostilities entered the third week with coordinated military and political signalling from Washington and Tel Aviv.
US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “affirmed a unified stance against Iran” amid continuing strikes.
The Iranian Red Crescent reported that the death toll in Iran has crossed 1,444, including at least 204 children, following sustained aerial bombardment and retaliatory attacks.
In southern Iran, an Israeli airstrike targeted a key gas field, while Iran accused Israel of expanding its focus to energy infrastructure. Earlier strikes also destroyed multiple Iranian oil storage tankers.
In Israel, the Israel Oil Refineries said an Iranian strike on its Haifa complex “damaged essential infrastructure,” indicating reciprocal targeting of critical facilities.
The conflict has spilled across the region, with more than 1,000 people reported killed in Lebanon amid “intensified Israeli operations against Hezbollah positions.”
Iran has also targeted energy assets beyond Israel. An attack on the Ras Laffan gas facility in Qatar is expected to cut liquefied natural gas export capacity by about 17 percent, raising concerns over disruptions to supplies bound for Europe and Asia.
Officials and analysts say the conflict is increasingly centred on strategic energy infrastructure, with both sides expanding the scope of targets across multiple countries, including earlier reported strikes linked to Saudi Arabia’s Aramco facilities.