Israel Kills 20 Top Iranian Commanders

Israel’s massive airstrike attack left Iran’s military leadership in crisis as it killed several senior Iranian commanders — including the head of its Revolutionary Guard.

At least 20 senior Iranian commanders were killed in Israel’s strikes on Iran on Friday, sources said. Six nuclear scientists have also been confirmed killed in the strikes.

The strikes came after talks to reach a deal on Iran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program failed, raising Israeli fears that Iran would produce a nuclear weapon.

Below is a list of those confirmed killed:

Military

Gen. Hossein Salami

Gen. Hossein Salami, the leader of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guard, was confirmed dead by Iranian state television in a major blow to Iranian leadership.

Salami, 65, rose to become one of Iran’s most powerful men after he was appointed as head of the guard in 2019 by Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

He was known for his threatening rhetoric towards Israel in speeches — including In a 2016 address in which he claimed there was “fertile ground” for the “annihilation, the wiping out, and the collapse of the Zionist regime.”

Khamenei tapped Mohammad Pakpour to replace Salami as head of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.

Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh

Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the head of the Revolutionary Guard’s missile program, was also killed overnight, Israel and Iranian officials confirmed.

The Israeli military said he was killed when it hit an “underground command center” where Revolutionary Guard officials were preparing “for an attack on the state of Israel.”

Two other senior officials were also killed in the same strike, Israel said.

“Hajizadeh publicly declared his commitment to Israel’s destruction at various events in recent years and played a central role in developing the Iranian regime’s plan for Israel’s destruction,” the Israeli military said.

Hajizadeh claimed responsibility for the downing of a Ukrainian passenger plane in 2020 which killed 176 people.

Gen. Mohammad Bagheri

Mohammad Bagheri had served as the chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces and was the country’s highest-ranking military official.

He oversaw both the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and the rest of the country’s military.

In 2019 Bagheri was sanctioned by the US along with several others in Khamenei’s inner circle, with the Treasury Department claiming that he for decades “oppressed the Iranian people, exported terrorism, and advanced destabilizing policies around the world.”

Khamenei on Friday named Gen. Abdolrahim Mousavi as the new head of the armed forces, replacing Bagheri. Mousavi was previously the top army commander.

Lt. Gen. Gholamali Rashid

Gholamali Rashid, deputy chief of the general staff of the armed forces of Iran, was killed, Khamenei confirmed.

Fereydoun Abbasi-Davani

Abbasi served as head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization from 2011 to 2013. The hardliner was a member of parliament from 2020 to 2024.

Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi

Tehranchi was head of Iran’s Islamic Azad University in Tehran.

Four other scientists killed in Friday’s strikes are Abdolhamid Manouchehr, Ahmad Reza Zolfaghari, Amirhossein Feghi and Motalibizadeh.