Washington, 02 March (H.S.): The United States military has confirmed a decisive strike that demolished the headquarters of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), framing the operation as severing the head of the snake in a bold escalation against Tehran's longstanding aggression.

CENTCOM's Stark Declaration

US Central Command (CENTCOM) issued a terse statement underscoring the IRGC's culpability for over 1,000 American deaths spanning 47 years, from proxy attacks to direct hostilities. America has the most powerful military on earth, and the IRGC no longer has a headquarters, the command asserted, signaling a paradigm shift in confronting Iran's paramilitary backbone.

This follows Saturday's assassination of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, which ignited a cascade of joint US-Israeli operations targeting Iran's command infrastructure.

Israel's Parallel Assaults

Concurrently, Israeli forces hammered dozens of IRGC-linked sites, including intelligence hubs, air force commands, and internal security centers, crippling Tehran's operational core. Jerusalem described the barrages as delivering a severe blow to adversary coordination, with Sunday's Tehran explosions underscoring the campaign's intensity.

Iran's reprisals ensued swiftly, unleashing missiles and drones toward Israel, US Gulf bases, Riyadh, and Dubai, though American officials dismissed claims of damage to the carrier USS Abraham Lincoln.

Regional Ripples and Oil Peril

The Strait of Hormuz teeters on the brink as Iran struck the Palau-flagged tanker Skylight near Oman's Musandam Peninsula, injuring four of its 20 crew—including 15 Indians—and prompting full evacuation. Oil prices surged 10% amid halted tanker traffic, with giants like Maersk suspending transits after IRGC radio warnings barred passage through this vital chokepoint for 20% of global energy flows.

Tehran installed cleric Alireza Arafi in a provisional leadership council, but vows of ferocious retaliation loom large.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar