Israel has carried out a sweeping series of airstrikes on Iran, reportedly aimed at dismantling Tehran’s nuclear capabilities and eliminating its most senior military officials.
According to the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), around 200 fighter jets were deployed to hit approximately 100 strategic targets in the early hours of Friday. Among those killed, according to reports, were Major General Hossein Salami, commander-in-chief of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and General Mohammad Bagheri, chief of staff of the Iranian armed forces.
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These latest strikes draw comparisons with Israel’s operations in Lebanon last year, which targeted and killed the leadership of the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement. One of the highest-profile casualties at that time was Hezbollah’s former leader, Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in a precision strike on the group’s headquarters in Beirut.
Now, it appears Israel is pursuing a similar strategy to dismantle Iran’s senior military command. Here is what is known so far about the key figures reported killed in the overnight assault.
General Mohammad Bagheri
General Bagheri had served as the highest-ranking officer in Iran’s military since 2016, coordinating operations across both the country’s regular armed forces and the IRGC. The latter, which answers solely to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is responsible for Iran’s military support of regional proxy groups and internal security operations.
His death is expected to cause serious disruption within the IRGC’s leadership. Bagheri was also a senior member of the IRGC Command Network, a powerful structure that oversees Iran’s defence strategy, intelligence, and unconventional warfare.
Born in Tehran in 1960, Bagheri held a doctorate in political geography and an undergraduate degree in engineering. He was reportedly involved in the 1979 hostage crisis and later joined the IRGC as an intelligence officer. He claimed a key role in many operations during the Iran-Iraq War (1980–1988).
In 2022, Bagheri announced advancements in Iran’s ballistic missile programme. Later that year, the White House stated he was managing Iranian military aid to Russia, including drone shipments. Both the UK and US imposed sanctions against him, citing not only the arms transfers but also his role in suppressing nationwide protests following the death of Mahsa Amini.
Major general Hossein Salami
Major General Salami, who also joined the IRGC in 1979, had a long and prominent military career, rising to command the IRGC’s Aerospace Force and later becoming its overall chief in 2019. His death marks one of the most significant losses for the IRGC in decades.
The IRGC praised him in a statement as “one of the most distinguished commanders of the Islamic Revolution”, citing his involvement in “scientific, cultural, security, and military jihad”.
Born in Isfahan province — one of the areas reportedly struck in the Israeli assault — Salami held several operational and intelligence roles during the Iran-Iraq War. As deputy commander-in-chief, he became known for his incendiary rhetoric against the United States. His elevation to top commander came shortly after the US government designated the IRGC a terrorist organisation.
Following the assassination of Qasem Soleimani by the US in 2020, Salami vowed “harsh revenge” and warned that no American or Israeli commander would be safe. Five days after Soleimani’s death, Iran launched ballistic missiles at two US military bases in Iraq, injuring American personnel but causing no fatalities.
Salami had repeatedly threatened Israel and the US in public speeches. In 2016, he described the “annihilation” of the “Zionist regime” as a goal. After an Israeli strike on an Iranian diplomatic compound in Syria in April 2024 killed two Iranian generals and five other IRGC members, Salami ordered a retaliatory assault involving over 300 drones and missiles — an unprecedented escalation that brought the region to the brink of broader conflict.
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Ali Shamkhani
Another major figure reportedly killed was Ali Shamkhani, widely seen as one of Iran’s leading security strategists. As former secretary of the Supreme National Security Council and a close adviser to Ayatollah Khamenei, Shamkhani played a key role in Iran’s foreign and defence policy.
Born in 1955 in Ahvaz, he studied engineering and joined the anti-monarchy underground movement Mansouroun as a student. He later served in several roles within the IRGC and held ministerial posts in both the 1980s and early 2000s.
Though a hardliner in military affairs, Shamkhani was also viewed by some in the West as a potential mediator. However, he resigned in 2023 following reports — including from The New York Times — linking him to a British spy and to a government faction reportedly engaged in organised crime.
General Gholam Ali Rashid
General Rashid, born in 1953 in Khuzestan, was another senior figure killed in the strikes. He joined the IRGC at the outbreak of the Iran-Iraq War and became a key strategist during the conflict.
At the time of his death, he was leading the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, a powerful joint operations command. He had warned previously that any military strike by the US would amount to a strategic error. He, too, was part of the IRGC Command Network.
Blow to Iran’s Nuclear Programme
Iranian state media reported that six nuclear scientists were killed in the Israeli strikes. Among them were Fereydoun Abbasi, a nuclear physicist with close ties to the IRGC, and Dr Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi, a professor of theoretical physics and president of Islamic Azad University in Tehran.
Abbasi had long been suspected of involvement in Iran’s nuclear weapons research and was reportedly responsible for calculations related to nuclear weapon yields. Tehranchi’s background remains less documented, though his role in academia placed him at the heart of Iran’s scientific establishment.
This latest wave of strikes marks a dramatic escalation in hostilities between Israel and Iran. With several of Iran’s top military minds eliminated and key components of its nuclear apparatus struck, the regional balance of power could be significantly affected. However, the full implications — strategic and diplomatic — remain to be seen.
