Top Iranian military commanders killed in Israeli strikes: Who were they?

Major General Mohammad Bagheri: Chief of Staff of Iran’s armed forces

Bagheri had been appointed Chief of Staff in 2016. (Photo via Wikimedia Commons)

Bagheri was the highest-ranking military official in Iran. He oversaw both the regular army and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). A veteran of the Iran-Iraq War, Bagheri was regarded as a top military strategist and intelligence expert.

Appointed as the Chief of Staff in 2016, he had advanced academic degrees in engineering and political geography.

He was reportedly killed during a precision Israeli airstrike in Tehran, part of a broader attack on Iran’s military and nuclear infrastructure. Iranian state media confirmed his death, though there was no immediate acknowledgment from Iran’s armed forces.

General Hossein Salami: Commander-in-Chief of the IRGC

According to Iranian state media, Salami was killed in a direct hit on the IRGC headquarters in Tehran. (AP Photo)

As head of Iran’s most powerful military force, the Revolutionary Guard, Salami played a central role in foreign operations across the Middle East, including in Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq. He was known for his aggressive anti-Israel rhetoric and threats toward the United States.

Appointed in 2019 by Ayatollah Khamenei, Salami’s leadership coincided with heightened tensions following the US withdrawal from the nuclear deal. After the US killed Quds Force chief Qassem Soleimani in 2020, Salami warned as per Iran Front Page, “If you harm a hair of an Iranian’s head, the Iranian military will give a crushing response.”

He was confirmed dead by both Iranian state television and Israeli sources.

General Gholamali Rashid: Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Iran’s armed forces

Rashid was widely viewed as a mastermind behind Iran’s regional deterrence strategies. (Wikimedia Commons Photo)

Rashid was a key military strategist and head of the Khatam-al Anbiya Central Headquarters, which coordinates operations between Iran’s regular army, the IRGC, intelligence services, and missile divisions.

He was widely viewed as a mastermind behind Iran’s regional deterrence strategies and drone warfare capabilities. Iranian state media confirmed that he was killed in the same strike that targeted other senior officials.

Ali Shamkhani: Former Naval Commander

Shamkhani was a close aide to Ayatollah Khamenei. (Wikimedia Commons Photo)

Shamkhani was a former secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council and a close aide to Ayatollah Khamenei. He played a significant role in Iran’s nuclear diplomacy, heading backchannel talks with the United States.

He died after being critically injured in a missile strike on his penthouse apartment in northern Tehran.

Scientists killed

• Fereydoun Abbasi-Davani: Nuclear scientist and former Atomic Energy Chief
  Abbasi was one of Iran’s top nuclear physicists and a former head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran. He had survived a previous assassination attempt in 2010 and was a key figure in Iran’s nuclear weapons research.
• Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi: Physicist and nuclear adviser
  Tehranchi, an academic and physicist, was closely tied to Iran’s nuclear program and reportedly advised on strategic technology for uranium enrichment.

These killings come amid an escalating conflict between Iran and Israel, with Israel’s military confirming the coordinated strike was meant to disrupt Iran’s strategic and nuclear command. Iranian officials have vowed retaliation, and regional tensions remain at a boiling point.

(With inputs from The New York Times, The Associated Press)