Israel announced that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' intelligence chief Brig. Gen. Majid Khademi and Quds Force special operations commander Asghar Bagheri were both killed.

In a statement posted on X, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed Khademi's killing, accusing him of helping advance terrorist attacks abroad and overseeing surveillance of Iranian civilians as part of the regime’s crackdown on domestic protests.

"Khademi wasn’t just any figure, he was effectively No. 2 within the IRGC, one of the few senior commanders who managed to survive multiple waves of Israeli and American targeting over the past year — until now," a senior Israeli official told Fox News. "He kept moving, relocating, but ultimately he was hunted down and eliminated.

"He oversaw an intelligence apparatus that repeatedly failed to detect or prevent major Israeli and U.S. operations, including a series of strategic surprises that exposed deep vulnerabilities inside Iran’s security system."

IRAN'S INTERNET BLACKOUT HIDING STRIKE DAMAGE AND SUPPRESSING DISSENT, ISRAELI OFFICIALS SAY

Notably, Khademi was "deeply involved in attempts to penetrate U.S. systems, including efforts to breach the Pentagon," and "coordinated extensively with Russia," according to the official.

"His removal marks a significant blow to Iran’s intelligence leadership at a time when the regime is already under sustained pressure," the official added.

Bagheri was also killed at the same time as the strike that took out Khademi, the official noted.

TRUMP DECLARES 'I GOT HIM BEFORE HE GOT ME' AFTER IRAN'S SUPREME LEADER KILLED IN STRIKE

"Bagheri was directly involved in recruiting agents across the Middle East and orchestrating attacks against American targets in Iraq and Syria — including operations that led to U.S. casualties," the senior official told Fox News.

The IDF confirmed the killing of Bagheri on X later Monday morning.

"In recent years, Bagheri advanced numerous attacks against both Israel and worldwide," the IDF wrote. "In addition, Bagheri personally commanded operations targeting IDF soldiers on the Syrian-Israel border."

Khademi spent decades in intelligence and counter-espionage roles while rising through Iran’s security apparatus.

Before his appointment, Khademi headed the Guard's Intelligence Protection Organization, charged with internal surveillance and counter-intelligence, and held senior roles in Iran’s defense ministry.

The IRGC intelligence arm is one of Iran’s most powerful security bodies, with a central role in domestic surveillance to counter foreign influence, and often operating in parallel with the civilian intelligence ministry.

Fox News' Trey Yingst and Reuters contributed to this report.

FIRST ON FOX: A new report is raising concerns about Turkey’s role in the Middle East, arguing that under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the country has moved away from its traditional Western alignment and toward deeper engagement with Islamist movements, including the Muslim Brotherhood.

The Foundation for Defense of Democracies report, led by senior fellow Sinan Ciddi and titled "Islamist Domination of Turkey: A Forward Base for Muslim Brotherhood-Aligned Jihadism," argues that Turkey has ties to Hamas — the U.S.-designated terrorist group responsible for the Oct. 7 massacre — as well as to the Muslim Brotherhood — an Islamist movement whose affiliates have recently been designated as terrorist organizations by the United States — placing Turkey’s policies under renewed scrutiny as it prepares to host a NATO summit.

Ciddi told Fox News Digital the shift reflects a broader transformation in how Turkey defines threats.

"What we have is Turkey has completely rewritten the rules of how you interpret what a jihadist terrorist entity may be," Ciddi said. "Erdoğan has reinvented what is interpreted as a terrorist entity … groups such as Hamas or al-Nusra fall into line with his pan-Islamist view of the world."

EXPERT WARNS RADICAL ISLAMIST NETWORKS COULD SHIFT WEST AFTER IRAN REGIME SHAKEUP

A central focus of the report is Turkey’s relationship with Hamas, which the United States designates as a terrorist organization, and yet Hamas expanded its presence in Turkey after 2011, establishing offices and networks inside the country.

"From 2011 onward … Hamas used this opportunity inside of Turkey with a friendly government to establish offices, engage in recruitment (and) fundraising," Ciddi said.

U.S. authorities have taken action against some of those networks. The Treasury Department has designated Hamas-linked individuals and entities operating in Turkey, a point Ciddi said underscores longstanding concerns.

"The United States Treasury has been tracking and designating Hamas-affiliated NGOs and individuals inside of Turkey," he said.

The report also alleges that some Hamas operatives have been able to travel using Turkish-issued documents and that senior figures have been publicly received by Erdoğan.

Beyond Hamas, the report describes Turkey as a hub for Muslim Brotherhood figures from across the region, including Egypt and Yemen, many of whom relocated there following crackdowns in their home countries.

Across parts of the Arab world, the Muslim Brotherhood has been banned or restricted for years. 

Egypt outlawed the movement in 2013, accusing it of inciting unrest and undermining state institutions. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates later designated it a terrorist organization, describing it as a threat to national stability, while Bahrain adopted a similar stance. 

Jordan dissolved its local chapter this year following arrests authorities said were linked to illicit weapons activity.

Some European countries also have taken steps targeting networks linked to the movement. 

Austria, for example, has pursued legal action against individuals and organizations it says are connected to Brotherhood-linked activity as part of its counter-extremism policies.

Officials in these countries have argued that the Brotherhood operates through a mix of religious outreach, political activism, charitable organizations and media platforms to influence public opinion and challenge state authority.

ISRAEL SHUTS DOOR ON TURKEY IN GAZA AS TRUMP PRAISES ERDOGAN, PLAYS DOWN CLASH

The report also examines Turkey’s role in Syria, where the country backed opposition forces during the civil war, supporting a range of armed factions, including groups that later formed the Syrian National Army.

"The Syrian National Army … was a hodgepodge collection of militias that Turkey directly armed, paid and organized," he said.

The report links Turkish support to groups such as al-Nusra and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, raising questions among analysts about whether such ties could expose Turkish officials to potential sanctions under U.S. law.

TRUMP FACES MIDDLE EAST TEST AS NETANYAHU BALKS AT ERDOGAN’S GAZA TROOP HOPES

Despite these concerns, other analysts say Turkey’s relationship with the United States continues to act as a constraint on its behavior, while the relationship between Donald Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been characterized by renewed trust, with Trump praising Erdoğan's role in Gaza diplomacy.

As Trump celebrated the Gaza ceasefire agreement in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt in October 2025, he singled out one leader for extraordinary praise — Erdoğan, whose leadership he credited for helping deliver the Gaza ceasefire.

"A guy who’s been a friend of mine for a long time. I don’t know why I like the tough people better than the soft, easy ones," Trump said about Erdoğan at the Sharm el-Sheikh summit in October 2025. "This gentleman from a place called Turkey is one of the most powerful in the world … He’s a tough cookie — but he’s my friend."

Hişyar Özsoy, a Turkish politician and academic, described the relationship between Erdoğan and Trump as "transactional," noting Washington often relies on Turkey for regional coordination.

In a policy webinar hosted by the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security, Turkish academic Hüseyin Bağcı emphasized that Ankara remains closely tied to Washington.

"The Turkish state is not interested in fighting with Israel because the Turkish government has very good relations with (the) United States of America," he said. "You cannot be good with America and then be in conflict with Israel."

Bağcı also suggested Turkey has at times limited Islamist actors domestically.

"Today do you hear anything about" the Muslim Brotherhood, he said. "No … because the president said stop." 

Turkey, a NATO member since 1952, remains a key partner for the United States, providing logistical access, military capabilities and diplomatic reach.

But Ciddi argued Turkey's current trajectory increasingly diverges from alliance priorities.

"There is an established track record … where Turkey significantly undermines the transatlantic alliance’s core security concerns," he said.

He pointed to U.S. sanctions on Turkish entities accused of supplying dual-use goods to Russia, as well as Ankara’s broader strategy of maintaining ties with competing powers.

As far as Turkey’s positioning itself amid tensions with Iran, Ciddi said Turkey is likely to favor a weakened Iranian regime rather than a complete collapse that could produce a more pro-Western government. 

"A weakened Iranian regime is Erdoğan’s safest bet," he said.

Bağcı offered a similar assessment of the rivalry.

"Iran is not an enemy of Turkey, but not necessarily its best friend. Turkey and Iran are two regional competitors," he said.

The report recommends potential U.S. policy responses, including sanctions and increased scrutiny of Turkey’s financial system, steps that could reshape relations between Washington and Ankara.

Fox News Digital reached out multiple times to the Turkish government and to the State Department for comment but did not receive a response in time for publication.

A former Syrian prison official was convicted by a U.S. federal jury in Los Angeles Monday on torture and immigration fraud charges after prosecutors said he oversaw and at times personally carried out brutal abuses against detainees under the now-ousted regime of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Samir Ousman Alsheikh, a former brigadier general who once headed Damascus Central Prison, also known as Adra Prison, was found guilty after a nine-day trial of conspiracy to commit torture, immigration-related fraud offenses and three counts of torture, according to the Justice Department.

The case marks a historic step toward accountability, with Alsheikh becoming the first Assad-era official to be tried and convicted in a U.S. federal court.

Prosecutors said the 73-year-old ordered and oversaw the torture of political prisoners between 2005 and 2008, including beatings, suspension from ceilings and the use of devices such as the so-called "Magic Carpet," which folded victims’ bodies to inflict extreme pain.

TEXAS FAMILY SUES SYRIA FOR DEATH OF LOVED ONE: ‘PLAN TO HOLD THE REGIME FULLY ACCOUNTABLE FOR ITS CRIMES'

He entered the United States in 2020 after lying about his past on his visa application and later attempted to become a U.S. citizen, authorities said.

Alsheikh, who was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport in 2024 as he attempted to board a one-way flight to Beirut, faces up to 20 years in prison for each torture-related count when he is sentenced at a later date.

"Samir Ousman Alsheikh ordered, directed, and directly participated in heinous acts of torture designed to inflict excruciating mental and physical pain with the goal of punishing and silencing political dissent," said Tysen Duva, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s criminal division in a statement.

"For many years, he evaded responsibility for his crimes in Syria, including by lying to U.S. immigration authorities in order to reside in the U.S. with the hope of obtaining citizenship. Thanks to the courage and perseverance of the victims and the dedication of Department of Justice prosecutors, along with their law enforcement partners, justice has prevailed, and Alsheikh can no longer run from his past."

‘HIGH STAKES DIPLOMACY’: NEW BOOK GIVES AN INSIDE LOOK AT EFFORTS TO BRING HOME AN AMERICAN DETAINED IN SYRIA

According to a federal criminal complaint filed in July 2024, Alsheikh was an associate of Maher al-Assad, the younger brother of Bashar al-Assad, who led the Syrian military's elite Fourth Division.

He was appointed by Assad in 2011 as governor of Deir ez-Zor after anti-government protests that spread across the country during the Arab Spring.

The Syrian Emergency Task Force (SETF), a Washington-based advocacy group, assisted investigators in bringing the former regime official to justice. The organization first identified Alsheikh in Los Angeles through a tip and conducted its own verification using open-source material and leaked Syrian government data.

It then alerted U.S. authorities and worked with the FBI and Justice Department to help build the case, including connecting investigators with key witnesses who testified about abuses at Adra Prison. According to SETF, it pushed for torture charges rather than solely immigration violations to ensure broader accountability.

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO…SYRIA'S CIVIL WAR?

Mamoun al-Homsi, a former independent member of the Syrian Parliament, was arrested in 2001 for demanding democratic reforms and spent five years in Adra Prison. He told Fox News Digital in an interview, through a translator, that Alsheikh stood out from other prison directors for his brutality.

Al-Homsi said that while previous prison heads largely adhered to prison rules and did not target detainees for their political views, Alsheikh's arrival in 2005 marked a shift. 

"The toughest torture for me wasn't anything done to me physically as much as it was what was done to others on my behalf," said al-Homsi.

SETF Executive Director Mouaz Moustafa, who attended the trial, told Fox News Digital that testimony revealed Alsheikh ordered another prisoner, Khaled Abdul Malek, to poison al-Homsi.

"Khaled Abdul Malek had come so close to Mamoun al-Homsi, so he told him about this plan and told him don't eat anything from anyone to the point where Mamoun al-Homsi would go to the trash if there was any and wash whatever is left," Moustafa said.

Malek refused Alsheikh’s demand to poison the prominent political figure, leading to him being placed in Wing 13, a notorious part of the prison where people were tortured.

"Khaled Malik then had his back broken," Moustafa said, adding that he arrived in court with a cane and could barely walk.

Al-Homsi said he survived on olive pits and lost more than 60 pounds. He was released in 2006 and later fled to Canada.

WHY SYRIA PLAYS A KEY ROLE IN TRUMP'S PLANS FOR MIDDLE EAST PEACE

The former parliament member told Fox News Digital the verdict sends a message that former regime officials cannot evade accountability, even if they leave Syria and attempt to rebuild their lives abroad.

Al-Homsi called the verdict a signal that justice, though long delayed, is finally taking hold, an outcome he described as essential for the future of a free Syria.