Tehran/Tel Aviv, 21 June 2025 (dpa/MIA) - Israel on Saturday announced it has killed a top commander from Iran's elite Quds Force in a strike on the city of Qom, following Iranian reports of casualties from an Israeli attack.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said the attack targeted Saeed Izadi, the leader of the Palestine Corps in the Quds Force, one of the branches of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Izadi is said to have financed and armed the Palestinian militant group Hamas to enable it to carry out the October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel, which sparked the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

The Israeli military described Izadi as a "founder of the Iranian regime's plan to destroy Israel" in a post on X.

Katz described the attack on Qom as a "great success for the Israeli secret service and the air force."

He said the strike hit Izadi's flat in the centre of Qom, warning that "the long arm of Israel will reach all its enemies."

Iranian reports of casualties

Iranian media reported earlier on Saturday that at least one person was killed and two others injured in an Israeli airstrike on Qom, south of Tehran.

The government-linked news outlet Iran Nuances said a residential building was struck in the attack, with the fatality identified as a 16-year-old.

The city is located some 50 kilometres north of the Fordow uranium enrichment facility, widely believed to be one of Israel's most critical targets in the ongoing conflict.

The Quds Force supports political groups close to Iran abroad - such as Lebanon's Hezbollah and the Yemen-based Houthis - and carries out covert operations on behalf of the Revolutionary Guards.

Iran Nuances also reported an explosion in the central Iranian city of Isfahan, where air defences were activated.

No further details were initially available. Isfahan is home to an important nuclear research centre.

Mutual attacks continue

Strikes between Israel and Iran are continuing for a second week, with a round of diplomatic talks between European foreign ministers and their Iranian counterpart on Friday having failed to produce results towards an end to the attacks.

Earlier on Saturday, the Israeli military said that Iran launched another missile attack on Israel, Israel's air defences appeared to have intercepted the missiles, with no initial reports of impacts.

Israel says it launched its large-scale attacks on June 13 because Iran was on the cusp of producing a nuclear weapon - something Tehran has consistently denied, saying its nuclear programme is for civilian use only.

In an interview published in the German tabloid Bild on Friday, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said Israel has delayed Tehran's development of a nuclear bomb by years.

According to official figures, 24 people in Israel have been killed and more than 1,200 injured by Iranian attacks since the start of the conflict.

The US-based human rights network HRANA says that more than 720 people have been killed and more than 2,500 injured in Iran as a result of the attacks.

The network relies on sources on the ground and publicly accessible sources. The Iranian government itself does not publish figures on injuries and fatalities.

Photo: dpa