Members of Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) were killed on Sunday while attempting to neutralise unexploded ordnance in the western city of Khorramabad, weeks after it was targeted during a wave of Israeli airstrikes.
The fatalities were confirmed by Iran’s semi-official Tasnim News Agency, which cited an IRGC statement blaming “the Zionist regime’s aggression” for the explosives that claimed the lives of the soldiers.
The area had come under attack during last month’s intense military confrontation between Iran and Israel.
The deaths mark a grim aftermath of the 12-day war that erupted on June 13, triggered by Israeli aerial assaults reportedly aimed at halting Iran’s nuclear ambitions—claims that Tehran has repeatedly denied. Israeli strikes targeted strategic military sites and nuclear facilities across Iran, killing high-ranking officers and prominent nuclear scientists, according to Iranian sources.
The Iranian judiciary last week placed the national death toll at over 900 from the conflict, while Israel reported at least 28 deaths resulting from Iranian retaliatory missile strikes.
A ceasefire, brokered with international mediation, took effect on June 24, temporarily halting direct hostilities between the long-standing regional rivals.
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In a symbolic gesture of resilience, Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, made his first public appearance since the outbreak of the war on Saturday.
He was seen attending a Muharram mourning ceremony in Tehran, as shared by state media.
Meanwhile, Iranian authorities announced on Thursday the reopening of the country’s airspace—including the capital, Tehran—which had remained closed since the onset of the war.
As both nations assess the toll of the brief but deadly conflict, tensions in the region remain high, with the risk of further escalation never far beneath the surface.