On Friday, Israeli airstrikes delivered a severe blow to Iran’s military leadership, killing multiple high-ranking officials, as confirmed by Iranian state media and government insiders.
One of the most prominent casualties is Maj. Gen. Mohammad Bagheri, the chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces, a pivotal figure in the nation’s military hierarchy. While formal confirmation from Iranian defense authorities is still awaited, numerous local news sources have announced his death.
Credit: 8am.media
In a separate strike on a location in Tehran, Gen. There have also been reports of the death of Hossein Salami, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). He and a number of other senior members of the elite security unit were acknowledged in an official announcement by the IRGC.
Credit: Al Arabiya
The strikes, which targeted both military sites and residential areas, spread throughout several cities, including Tehran, Tabriz, Isfahan, Kermanshah, and Arak. Iranian sources confirmed that many high-ranking officials were attacked at their residences, including some located in military installations.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s top advisor and former navy commander, Ali Shamkhani, was one of the casualties; he was killed when an airstrike struck his home. A prominent member of a diplomatic team engaged in Iran’s nuclear negotiations with the United States, Shamkhani has played a pivotal role.
Physicist Muhammad Mehdi Tehranji, nuclear scientist Fereydoun Abbasi, and General Gholamali Rashid were all killed. Their deaths have weakened Iran’s military and nuclear programs and threatened its strategic capabilities.