Brigadier General Hossein Mohebbi was appointed as the new spokesman for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), replacing Ali-Mohammad Naeini who was killed in an airstrike last month.
Mohebbi's decree was signed by the Supreme Leader's envoy to the IRGC, Abdollah Haji-Sadeghi.
Multiple explosions were reported across Tehran and surrounding areas early Saturday, according to messages received from residents, with one eyewitness describing Friday night as the "most terrifying" one since the beginning of the war.
In the capital, residents in western districts including Jannat Abad, Punak, Shahran, Shahrak-e Azadi, Tehranpars and Ekbatan said they heard one or two powerful blasts between 02:24 and 02:26 local time, with some reporting their homes shaking.
Similar accounts emerged from southern parts of the city, including District 19, Mehrabad, Shahrak-e Rahahan, Eslamshahr and Shahr-e Rey, where some residents also reported power outages and feeling shockwaves.
In Robat Karim, two to three strong explosions were reported around 02:26. Earlier, multiple blasts had been reported at 00:16 in Niavaran and at 00:33 in Robat Karim.
In neighboring Alborz province, residents in Karaj, Golshahr, Mehrshahr, Jahanshahr, Fardis, Garmdareh and Kordan reported hearing explosions and, in some areas, the sound of fighter jets and air defense activity from Friday night into early Saturday.
Several US aircraft were shot down or damaged and crews injured on Friday in one of the worst days for the US military in the war with Iran, with search operations ongoing for a missing US aviator in southwestern Iran.
An F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jet was shot down over Iran, marking the first confirmed loss of an American warplane to Iranian fire in the current conflict, according to US officials.
The aircraft was carrying two crew members who ejected before the crash. US officials said one pilot was rescued, while efforts to locate the second were still ongoing as of early Saturday.
Videos obtained by Iran International showed US military aircraft flying at low altitude in Iran's Kohgiluyeh and Boyerahmad province in the country's southwest.
One of the helicopters carrying a rescued crew member from the F-15 was hit by small-arms fire, injuring those on board, but landed safely in Iraq, US officials told CBS News.
In a separate incident the same day, another US aircraft—an A-10 Thunderbolt II—was hit in the Persian Gulf region, CBS reported citing US officials. The pilot was safely recovered after ejecting.
Iran says its air defenses shot down the warplane, but US officials have not disclosed the cause of the crash.
Iranian authorities also announced a reward for the capture of any surviving US pilot, calling for them to be handed over alive to security forces.
The downing of the F-15E suggests Iran retains the capability to strike US aircraft, despite repeated assertions by President Donald Trump and War Secretary Pete Hegseth that American forces had established air dominance during the five-week war.
The F-15E Strike Eagle is a twin-seat, dual-role fighter introduced in the 1980s, capable of both air-to-air and air-to-ground missions. It can reach speeds exceeding Mach 2 and carry a payload of more than 20,000 pounds, and has been used in multiple US military operations in recent decades.
The A-10 Thunderbolt II, commonly known as the Warthog, is a single-seat, subsonic attack aircraft introduced in the late 1970s and designed primarily for close air support missions.
Built for durability and firepower, it is optimized to engage ground targets such as tanks and armored vehicles, and is centered around a powerful 30mm cannon. The aircraft can reach speeds of around 450 miles per hour and carry a payload of up to roughly 16,000 pounds.
Iranian hardliners on Friday branded former foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif a “traitor” and accused him of espionage over his call to end the war, with a lawmaker urging the judiciary to arrest him along with former president Hassan Rouhani.
Hardline lawmaker Hamid Rasaei urged the judiciary to issue what he described as a “judicial shot” to detain the two, following comments in which Rouhani called for preparations to end the war “honorably” and Zarif outlined a framework for de-escalation.
In an article published in Foreign Affairs, Zarif said Tehran should “use its upper hand not to keep fighting but to declare victory and make a deal,” warning that continued conflict would lead to “further destruction of civilian lives and infrastructure.”
He proposed that Iran could “offer to place limits on its nuclear program and to reopen the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for an end to all sanctions,” and called for “a comprehensive peace deal” rather than a ceasefire.
He also called for the lifting of economic sanctions and the signing of a non-aggression pact and even restoration of diplomatic ties between Iran and the United States.
Rouhani, for his part, said the country should be prepared to end the war in a way that serves national interests and the public, stressing the need to coordinate resources to prevent attacks on Persian Gulf islands and maintain control over the Strait of Hormuz. He added that preserving the country and the Islamic Republic requires immediate policy reforms.
Hardliner threatens raid on Zarif's home
Zarif became a target at several state-organized rallies across Tehran on Friday night, where his photos were torched and demonstrators held placards calling him and Rouhani “traitors” and agents of the United States, urging their execution.
In one of these rallies, Saeed Haddadian, a famous religious vocalist with close ties to the establishment, called Zarif a “traitor” and threatened to raid his home if he fails to retract his remarks within three days.
"Security officials! Are you waiting for Zarif to write on his forehead that he has sold himself to the United States?" Haddadian said. "Mr. Zarif, you have no damn right to prescribe solutions for the Islamic Republic. You have no damn right to speak!"
"Even someone who is blind, deaf, and mute can understand that you are a traitor. In the middle of this proposal you call for improved relations between Iran and the US, an enemy that killed my leader and has shown such disrespect to Iran," Haddadian said.
"I give Zarif three days. If he does not say he screwed up, on the fourth night we will gather and go to (storm) his house."
Responding to the attacks, Rouhani's former advisor Hesamoddin Ashna urged hardliners to read Zarif's Foreign Affairs article in full and not judge it by its title.
"If you read the article in full, you will realize that at its core, Zarif’s text is a warning to Western countries about shifting dynamics. Remember: don’t judge a book by its cover—and don’t judge an article by its title," he said in a post on X.
"Article titles—even for submitted pieces in major publications—are determined by editors, not the author," he added.
Saeed Haddadian, a famous religious vocalist with close ties to Iran's establishment, called ex-foreign minister Javad Zarif a “traitor” after his Foreign Affairs article urging an end to the war, and threatened to raid his home if he fails to retract his remarks within three days.
"Security officials! Are you waiting for Zarif to write on his forehead that he has sold himself to the United States?" Haddadian told a rally of Islamic Republic supporters in Tehran on Friday night.
"Mr. Zarif, you have no damn right to prescribe solutions for the Islamic Republic. You have no damn right to speak!"
"Even someone who is blind, deaf, and mute can understand that you are a traitor. In the middle of this proposal you call for improved relations between Iran and the US, an enemy that killed my leader and has shown such disrespect to Iran," Haddadian said.
"I give Zarif three days. If he does not say he screwed up, on the fourth night we will gather and go to (storm) his house."
A hardline Iranian lawmaker has called on the judiciary to arrest former president Hassan Rouhani and his foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif after they advocated ending the war.
Hamid Rasaei urged the judiciary to issue what he described as a “judicial shot” to detain the two, following comments in which Rouhani called for preparations to end the war “honorably” and Zarif outlined a framework for de-escalation.
In an article published in Foreign Affairs, Zarif argued that any agreement must go beyond a temporary ceasefire and address the root causes of the conflict. He warned that a ceasefire alone would only delay further fighting.
Zarif proposed that Iran continue limited uranium enrichment under full international supervision as part of a multilateral agreement, while committing not to pursue nuclear weapons. He also called for the lifting of economic sanctions and the signing of a non-aggression pact between Iran and the United States.
Rouhani, for his part, said the country should be prepared to end the war in a way that serves national interests and the public, stressing the need to coordinate resources to prevent attacks on Persian Gulf islands and maintain control over the Strait of Hormuz. He added that preserving the country and the Islamic Republic requires immediate policy reforms.