Powerful figures, including the head of Iran's armed forces, killed in the Israeli attack

 

Powerful figures, including the head of Iran's armed forces, killed in the Israeli attack

Israel announced on Friday that it would launch an attack against Iran under Operation Rising Line, which would target Iranian military and nuclear targets.

When the names of the top military leaders killed in these attacks began to be published in Iranian state media, the scope of Israel’s operation began to be understood.

Not only was the head of the Iranian army, General Baqeri, killed in this attack, but several important nuclear scientists, including the commander-in-chief of the Revolutionary Guards, Hossein Salami, were also killed.

Although Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said in his message that ‘their successors and associates will immediately assume their responsibilities,’ it is obvious that the deaths of these individuals will undoubtedly deal a blow to Iran.

The records of these individuals show that they were among the Supreme Leader’s close circle. We have tried to get more details about these individuals.

Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces General Mohammad Baqeri

General Mohammad Baqeri was the Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, the highest-ranking military officer in the country. The country's armed forces, known as the Army, were under his command and as such he was responsible for the country's entire security system.

According to Iranian state media, 'Mohammad Baqeri joined the Revolutionary Guards in 1980, a year after the Iranian Revolution and the year that the Iran-Iraq War broke out. This tense conflict lasted eight years and thousands of people were killed on both sides and Iran suffered heavy losses.'

According to a US Congressional Research Service report, Baqeri also participated in the Iran-Iraq War and was among the officers recruited early in the Revolutionary Guards, which fought the Kurds and the Iran-Iraq War after the revolution.

Mr. Baqeri was the first commander of the IRGC's intelligence and operations, and according to him, he was present in all major IRGC operations during the eight-year war (except for the operation to break the siege of Abadan).

During the Iran-Iraq War, Mohammad Baqeri initially started his work in the operational field and gradually assumed intelligence responsibilities.

"Baqeri was the head of the Revolutionary Guard's covert operations in 1983. After the war, he was also made deputy head of intelligence and operations."

According to Iranian state media, he played a "special role" in the 1997 operation in Iraq. In 2016, he became the chief of staff of the Revolutionary Guard. He was subject to sanctions by the previous Trump administration. These sanctions were imposed on the "close circle" of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

It should be noted that he was sanctioned by the European Union for supplying drones to Russia and was sanctioned by Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom for his crackdown on protests following the killing of Mahsa Amini in 2022. According to Iranian state media, after his death, Iran appointed former Defense and Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi as his interim replacement.

Hossein Salami, the most senior Iranian leader killed in the attacks

The commander-in-chief of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, Hossein Salami, was also among those killed in the Israeli strikes. He is the most senior Iranian leader to be killed in the attacks.

Salami joined the Revolutionary Guards at the start of the Iran-Iraq War in 1980. As he rose through the ranks, he became known for his hardline stance against Iran's opponents, especially the United States and Israel.

Salami, 65, warned Israel in a statement last month that Tehran would open the "gates of hell" if the United States or Israel attacked Iran.

He has faced sanctions from the United Nations Security Council and the United States since the start of the 21st century over his links to Iran's nuclear and military programs.

He was the head of Iran's Revolutionary Guards when Iran launched its first military attack on Israel in 2024, launching 300 drones and missiles.

As tensions with Israel have risen in recent days, Salami said on Thursday that Iran is “fully prepared for any situation, event, or circumstance.”

“The enemy thinks it can fight Iran the same way it fights defenseless Palestinians who are under Israeli siege,” he said. “We have fought wars and we are experienced.”

Speaking about Iran’s military capabilities, Salami once said that our country is “on the verge of becoming a world power.”

When Israel struck Iranian targets in Syria in 2019, Salami vowed to “end the Zionist regime.”

When Israel struck Iranian targets in Syria in April last year, seven Revolutionary Guards personnel, including two generals, were killed, Salami warned that “our brave soldiers will punish the Zionist regime.”

Commander of Khatam al-Anbiya Headquarters Gholam Ali Rashid

One of the IRGC’s top commanders, Major General Gholam Ali Rashid served as the deputy chief of staff of the armed forces for 17 years. In 2016, by order of Ayatollah Khamenei, he became commander of Khatam al-Anbiya Base, considered Iran’s war base.

Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters is responsible for the operational coordination of the armed forces.

Rashid also played a key role in developing Iran’s defense philosophy. Gholam Ali Rashid was renowned as one of the senior commanders and military strategists of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. He was born in 1953 in the city of Dezful, Khuzestan Province. He joined the IRGC after the victory of the 1979 revolution and played a key role in the organization’s initial organization.

During the eight-year Iran-Iraq War, Gholam Ali Rashid played a key role alongside prominent commanders of the Revolutionary Guards in planning major military operations. He was a key member of the military decision-making chambers on various fronts and was known as the mastermind behind Operations Fatah al-Mubin, Beit al-Maqdis, and Wal-Fajr 8.

Rashid rarely appeared in the media but was always considered one of the most influential people in designing Iran's defense structure in terms of decision-making and strategy.

In recent years, he has emphasized in his statements the need for the armed forces to be prepared to confront foreign threats, especially the United States and Israel.

Prominent Iranian nuclear scientists targeted

Iranian nuclear scientists have also been targeted by Israel in its attacks. There is little public information about these nuclear scientists in Iran.

Fereydoun Abbasi

The former head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, Fereydoun Abbasi, was killed in Israeli strikes on Friday. He was considered a key figure in Iran’s nuclear development over the past two decades.

According to Iranian state media, he survived an assassination attempt in 2010 and was sanctioned by the United Nations for allegedly conducting secret research into nuclear weapons.

Fereydoun defended Iran’s nuclear program, calling it vital to the country’s integrity.

He was appointed vice president under President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and later became a member of parliament in 2019.

Mohammad Mehdi Tehrani

Mohammad Mehdi Tehrani was a physicist and president of Islamic Azad University. He played a role in Iran's nuclear research and was also a pioneer in promoting scientific education in the country, which was in line with the country's strategic technological goals.

Dr. Abdolhamid Manoushihar

According to Iran's Mashreq News, Dr. Abdolhamid Manoushihar was a professor and head of the Nuclear Engineering Department at Shahid Beheshti University. His brother Ahmad Reza Zalfaqari was also a professor in the Nuclear Engineering Department at the same university.

According to Iranian state media, Amir Hossein Faqehi, who was a professor at Shahid Beheshti University, and Maalibizadeh were also among the nuclear scientists killed.

Israel inflicts unprecedented damage on Iran’s senior leadership, according to Middle East analyst Sebastian Asher. Not only was Israel’s latest attack on Iran larger and more intense than its two previous military operations last year, Israel also adopted some of the same tactics used in the Israeli operation against Hezbollah in Lebanon last November.

This strategy is not just about targeting Iranian missile bases, but also about targeting key members of the Iranian leadership.

The killing of senior Hezbollah figures has had a devastating impact on the group’s ability to retaliate.

Footage from Tehran shows specific buildings being targeted, and the scenes are similar to Israeli strikes on the southern suburbs of Beirut, in which Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed.

However, no senior figure like Hassan Nasrallah was killed in Iran.

Supreme Leader Khamenei was not targeted, but the country’s senior scientists, including the commander-in-chief of the Revolutionary Guards and the head of the armed forces, Major General Mohammad Baqeri, were killed in the first few hours of an operation that the Israeli prime minister has said will last for days.

It seems likely that the Israeli attack will require a more severe response from Iran than we saw last year, when Iran fired ballistic missiles towards Israel, but such a severe response could also lead to a severe response from Iran.