Iran sees blasts after Trump fumes over breached truce; Top Iranian commander killed in separate strike
The commander of Basij counterintelligence protection forces was reportedly killed in an Israeli strike on Monday afternoon.
Shortly after US President Donald Trump announced once again that a ceasefire between Israel and Iran was "in effect", several Iranian media reports on Tuesday said that explosions were heard in northern Iran.
Some reports said that explosions and air defense activity were heard in the northern cities of Babol and Babolsar. Follow Israel Iran war live updates
Later, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) confirmed that Mohammad Taghi Yousefvand, the commander of intelligence protection for Iran's Basij paramilitary forces, was killed in an Israeli missile strike, Iran International reported.
"The commander of Basij counterintelligence protection forces was martyred in a Zionist regime attack," a statement from the IRGC said.
The strike had taken place on Monday afternoon, with several locations in the capital city of Tehran being hit.
ALSO READ | BRING YOUR PILOTS HOME, NOW!: Trump's big all-caps warning to Israel on Iran ceasefire
Meanwhile, Israeli officials confirmed to the Times of Israel that they carried out a small strike against an Iranian radar site north of Tehran. The strike was carried out in response to the ballistic missiles that Iran launched toward Israel earlier on Tuesday.
Iranian media also reported that Israeli strikes killed a senior nuclear scientist, Mohammad-Reza Sedighi Saber, at his family home in the northern city of Astaneh Ashrafieh.
The fresh strikes come against the backdrop of a blame game between Israel and Iran over a breach of the US-proposed ceasefire deal.
However, the situation later remained calm as no reports of attacks surfaced.
ALSO READ | On video: Donald Trump loses cool, drops ‘f’ word over Israel-Iran ceasefire breach
US President Donald Trump lost his cool and came down heavily on both nations, expressing disappointment over the violation. He warned Israel not to drop any more bombs on Iran and asked it to return its pilots home immediately.
Trump reportedly also called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and asked him "not to attack Iran at all". However, Netanyahu told him that he could not cancel the attack as some response was needed to Iran's violation of the truce.
Shortly after the call, PM Netanyahu's office issued a statement and said that during the call, "President Trump expressed his immense appreciation for Israel – which achieved all of its war goals. The president also expressed his confidence in the stability of the ceasefire.”
Netanyahu added that following the phone call with Trump, "Israel refrained from further attacks".
