Mojtaba Supports Hezbollah, Yemen Strikes Israel, Tel Aviv Kills Quds Force Chief

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei on Wednesday (April 1, 2026) pledged support for Hezbollah resistance against Israel and the US in West Asia in a message sent to the movement’s Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem.

Mojtaba reaffirmed that Iran’s policy remained rooted in the “ongoing support for the resistance against the Zionist and American adversary,” Hezbollah said, quoting the Iranian leader’s letter to Qassem.

The Iranian leader said the nation’s policy followed the path laid down by his predecessor, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and Hezbollah’s former chief, Sayed Hassan Nasrallah. Both Ali Khamenei and Nasrallah were killed in Israeli airstrikes in recent months and years.

Mojtaba noted that “standing firm and steadfast in the face of the fiercest enemies of the Islamic Ummah, namely the United States and the Zionist regime, was among the most outstanding characteristics of the martyred Imam,” referring to his father.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday (March 31), Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the “enormous accomplishments” of the Israeli armed forces in the military conflict with Iran, noting that the combined US-Israel effort was “systematically crushing” Tehran’s regime and eliminating existential hazards to the Jewish nation.

Netanyahu emphasised that “sooner or later” the Iranian administration will collapse. He noted that Israel is simultaneously forging “new alliances with important countries in the region” to counter the collective threat posed by Iran.

In Sanaa on Wednesday (April 1), the Yemeni Armed Forces announced their “third joint operation” in coordination with allied groups in Iran and Lebanon, targeting “sensitive sites” in the “south of occupied Palestine.”

In an X post, Yemeni Armed Forces spokesperson Yahya Saree said the operation involved cooperation with “Brother Mujahideens” in Iran and Hezbollah, resulting in a salvo of ballistic missiles launched at “sensitive sites of the Israeli enemy, south of occupied Palestine.”

Earlier, on Sunday (March 29), Yemen’s Houthis announced a “second military operation” targeting Israel in a significant escalation of the ongoing West Asia conflict, using a barrage of cruise missiles and drones against what it described as “vital and military sites” in southern occupied Palestine.

In a statement posted on Telegram, the Houthis’ military spokesperson said that the operation was launched as part of the “Holy Jihad Battle” and coincided with military actions by allied groups, including forces in Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon. He added that the second operation “successfully achieved its objectives.”

“Forces carried out the second military operation in the “Holy Jihad Battle” with a barrage of cruise missiles and drones targeting several vital and military sites belonging to the Zionist enemy in southern occupied Palestine. This operation coincided with the military operations being carried out by our mujahideen brothers in Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon, and, by the grace of Allah, it successfully achieved its objectives,” the statement read.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday (April 1), in Tel Aviv, the Israel Defense Forces said they eliminated Mahdi Vafaei, the Head of the Engineering Branch of the Quds Force’s Lebanon Corps in the Mahallat Area in Iran. IDF said that Vafaei advanced underground projects across Lebanon and Syria.

In a post on X, it said, “ELIMINATED: Mahdi Vafaei, the Head of the Engineering Branch of the Quds Force’s Lebanon Corps in the Mahallat Area in Iran. Vafaei advanced underground projects across Lebanon and Syria, leading efforts to establish and manage underground terrorist infrastructure sites for Hezbollah and the Assad regime.”

On Tuesday (March 31), the IDF killed Ibrahim al-Khaldi, a terrorist from the Hamas naval force, in the area of Nuseirat. In another post on X, IDF said, “ELIMINATED: Ibrahim al-Khaldi, a terrorist from the Hamas naval force, in the area of Nuseirat. Al-Khaldi has functioned as a source of expertise, while planning and advancing maritime terror attacks against IDF troops from Gaza.”

Earlier in the day, the IDF detailed the scale of its ongoing military campaign against Iran and its regional allies, claiming thousands of targets have been struck as part of a coordinated offensive alongside the United States Central Command (CENTCOM).

In a video message on X, the IDF spokesperson, Brigadier General Effie Defrin, said the joint operation, launched about a month ago with US forces, is aimed at significantly weakening the “Iranian terror regime” and its network of proxies.

“More than 4,000 targets were attacked, within them more than 10,000 terror components,” Defrin said, outlining the breadth of the campaign.

The IDF said it had “eliminated the master terrorist Ali Khamenei” and reported that an Israeli Adir fighter jet had shot down an Iranian aircraft over Iranian airspace.

The statement also highlighted intensified operations against Hezbollah, including airstrikes and a ground entry into Lebanon