According to Abu Ali Express, Iranian media outlets briefly published and then deleted a report identifying four members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps reportedly killed in last night's joint US-Saudi airstrike on Karbala, Iraq. The report named the four as Ali-Asghar Estana, Abolfazl Mottaqi, Mortezza Akbari, and Amir Abbas Derham-Pouroush, all residents of Kashan, Iran. The claim has not been confirmed by official Iranian sources.
Earlier today, at 15:29 Jerusalem, The Zioneer reported that initial Iranian accounts indicated members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) were among those killed in the joint US-Saudi airstrikes on Karbala, Iraq, but without specifying numbers or identities. Within the same hour, Iranian opposition journalist Omid Dana identified four slain operatives from the Mosh-M faction as Ali Asghar Astaneh, Abolfazl Motaki, Morteza Akbari, and Amir Abbas. Another report, citing a local Tehran news site via Iran International, confirmed four IRGC members killed but did not name them. At 16:27 Jerusalem, The Zioneer published a bulletin summarizing that report.
Now, a new development: Iranian media outlets briefly published and then deleted a report that names the four IRGC members as Ali-Asghar Estana, Abolfazl Mottaqi, Mortezza Akbari, and Amir Abbas Derham-Pouroush, all residents of Kashan, Iran. The deletion of the report may indicate that the information is sensitive or that the regime is attempting to control the narrative. The claim has not been confirmed by official Iranian state media.
The strikes on Karbala are part of a broader US-Saudi campaign against Iranian-backed militias in Iraq. As The Zioneer reported earlier today, joint US-Saudi strikes hit at least seven Hashd al-Shaabi positions, killing at least 10 operatives, in response to over 30 IRGC-directed drone attacks on Saudi energy infrastructure. The Zioneer has also documented previous IRGC casualties in US strikes in Iran's Khuzestan province and in other operations.
What remains open: The identities of the four IRGC members have not been officially confirmed by Iranian authorities. The deletion of the report by Iranian media outlets raises questions about the accuracy of the information or potential censorship. The status of the Karbala strike and its aftermath continues to be monitored.
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