Although Israel failed to hit Iranian nuclear facilities, according to the IAEA, several of the country’s most powerful people were killed in the attack.
One of the powerful figures who died is the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Hossein Salami.
He is the highest-ranking Iranian official to have died in this attack.
Iran confirmed that several scientists and military personnel were killed but did not release all names.
Among the six names of scientists and experts listed by the Tasnim news agency are Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi, president of Azad Islamic University in Iran, and Fereydoon Abbasi, who previously headed the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization.
Agencies report that Mohammad Bagheri, Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, Gholam Ali Rashid, Deputy Commander, and Hossein Salami, Commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, were killed.
Who is Commander Hossein Salami?
Salami joined the Revolutionary Guard – a powerful branch of Iran’s armed forces – in 1980 during the Iran-Iraq War. He became Deputy Commander in 2009, and Commander ten years later. Since the 2000s, he has been under sanctions by the UN Security Council and the US for his involvement in Iran’s nuclear and military programs, Nova.rs writes.
Salami often praised Iran’s military capabilities, once saying that the country was “on the verge of becoming a world power.”
He readily embraced the possibility of military conflict with Israel and the US. After an Israeli attack on Iranian targets in Syria in 2019, Salami promised to “wipe the Zionist regime off the political map.” After another Israeli strike last April on the Iranian embassy in Syria, which killed seven Revolutionary Guard members, including two generals, Salami issued a similar threat: “Our brave people will punish the Zionist regime,” N1 writes.
Salami previously warned that Tehran would “open the gates of hell” if attacked by either of those countries. Just one day before the attack, Salami stated that Iran was “fully prepared for all scenarios, situations, and circumstances,” BBC reports.
“The enemy thinks it can wage war against Iran in the same way as against the unprotected Palestinians who are under Israeli siege. We are battle-hardened and ready,” he said.
Iran state TV confirms
— Potkin Azarmehr (@potkazar) June 13, 2025
IRGC Generals Salami and Rashid and nuclear program figures Abbassi and Tehranchi are killed pic.twitter.com/r017PdNyCU
Who is Mohammad Bagheri?
Major General Mohammad Bagheri was an Iranian military officer within the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), who served as the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Mohammad Bagheri was a member of a group identified by the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) as the Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) command network, which also includes other commanders such as Mohammad Ali Jafari, Ali Fadavi, and Gholam Ali Rashid.
According to the institute’s “Critical Threats” project, this group “dominates the higher echelons of the Iranian military and controls planning, operations, intelligence, covert and irregular warfare operations, and internal security.” Bagheri was promoted from his previous position as Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence and Operations on June 28, 2016.
On October 21, 2022, a White House statement noted that Iranian troops were present in Crimea and assisting Russia in drone attacks. Bagheri was the commander responsible for overseeing Iranian military branches that supplied Russia with drones.
Who is Gholam Ali Rashid?
Major General Gholam Ali Rashid was an Iranian military officer who served as the Commander of the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters. He previously served as Deputy Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of Iran and was one of the commanders who made key decisions during the Iran-Iraq War. Along with Mohammad Ali Jafari, Ali Fadavi, Qasem Soleimani, and Mohammad Bagheri, Rashid was a member of the command network in Iran’s regular armed forces.
Israel launched airstrikes on Iran last night, stating that the targets were nuclear facilities, ballistic missile factories, and military commanders. Tehran warned that Israel and the US (who deny involvement in the attacks) would “pay dearly” for this action, raising fears that the already fragile region could slip into full-scale war.
Iran has already retaliated by firing missiles.
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Source: Danas, Photo: Tanjug/Vahid Salemi