August 15, 2026 09:14 am (IST)
Follow us:
facebook-white sharing button
twitter-white sharing button
instagram-white sharing button
youtube-white sharing button
Ajit Doval breaks silence on Operation Sindoor in Discovery’s explosive new docuseries | Rahul Gandhi's 'mock hug' taunt sparks row; Centre stresses 'mutual respect' with Italy | Delhi on high alert: Bomb threat to High Court, airport and multiple locations ahead of I-Day | ‘Who are they to interfere?’: CJI Surya Kant slams Bar Council of India over NALSAR students’ enrolment row | 'Shows how low Congress has sunk': BJP slams Rahul Gandhi over Modi foreign policy jibe | From guns to glamour: Former women Maoists walk the ramp in Chhattisgarh | Netaji row: Suvendu Adhikari govt strips BJP MP Anant Maharaj of state honour | Sukhbir Badal attacked by Nihang Sikh with kirpan at Maharashtra gurdwara; assailant detained | ‘If you cannot do it, we will pass an order’: Supreme Court’s final warning to Centre on food labels | ‘Time to move on’: Bombay HC sends strong message in Vijay Mallya-bank dispute
Iran
Iran flag. Photo: Unsplash

Middle East crisis: Iran appoints Brigadier General Majid Khademi as intelligence chief

| @indiablooms | Jun 20, 2025, at 09:20 am

Iran has appointed the new head of the intelligence at its Revolutionary Guards, days after the previous chief was killed in an Israeli strike, media reports said.

Commander-in-Chief of the IRGC, Brigadier General Mohammad Pakpour, has officially appointed Brigadier General Majid Khademi to lead the IRGC Intelligence Organization, reported Tehran Times.

He had earlier served as the head of the IRGC’s Protection and Intelligence Organization.

Also Read‘Cannot be allowed to exist, will be accountable for war crimes’: Israel vows to eliminate Khamenei after Iran strikes hit Soroka hospital

Meanwhile, as deadly missile exchanges between Israel and Iran enter a second week, the United Nations is sounding alarm over the growing toll on civilians, warning of mass displacement and regional instability.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on Thursday called for “maximum restraint” and reiterated that both Israel and Iran are bound by international humanitarian law.

“The widescale, continuing attacks by Israel across Iran, and the missile and drone strikes launched in response by Iran, are inflicting severe human rights and humanitarian impacts on civilians, and risk setting the whole region ablaze,” he said in a statement.

“The only way out of this spiralling illogic of escalation is maximum restraint, full respect for international law, and return in good faith to the negotiating table,” he stressed.

Appalling Collateral Damage

The UN rights chief also expressed deep concern over the impact on civilians.

“It is appalling to see how civilians are treated as collateral damage in the conduct of hostilities,” he said, adding that threats and inflammatory rhetoric by senior officials on both sides suggest a “worrying intention” to inflict harm on civilians.

The airstrikes, missile and drone attacks – launched by both Israel and Iran since 13 June – have caused heavy damage to civilian infrastructure and claimed hundreds of lives. 

According to Iranian authorities, at least 224 people have been killed, while human rights groups report significantly higher figures. In Israel, officials report 24 deaths and more than 840 injuries so far.

Support Our Journalism

We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism

IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.

Support objective journalism for a small contribution.