The Israeli military announced that it has killed Iran’s wartime chief of staff and other senior officials, further weakening Iran’s leadership.
This follows evolving tension between the two nations, as war escalated last Friday. Over the course of the past five days, Israeli strikes have killed more than 224 people in Iran, according to the country’s health ministry, and have injured more than 1400 people.
Iranian barrages have killed at least 24 identified Israeli civilians, with around 600 injured as well.
In the Israeli strikes, the military has killed at least seven Iranian key players in this latest wave of hostilities.
“These officials played a central role in Iran’s strategic planning and terrorist operations against Israel, the West, and regional countries,” Israeli military officials said about the deaths of four intelligence officials.
Here is what we know about the key players who have died in Israeli attacks.
Hossein Salami, commander in chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
Salami was killed Friday by an Israeli airstrike. His rank is one of the most powerful and influential positions in Iran.
The commander in chief’s job includes setting up military strategy and doctrine for the Guard, overseeing military operations, and being involved with internal security.
Salami had been vocal about his position with other world countries.
“We shall fight them [enemies] on the global level, not just in one spot,” Salami was quoted as saying. “Our war is not a local war. We have plans to defeat the world powers.”
Following Salami’s death, Iran responded by attacking Israel with ballistic missiles — a weapon Salami helped develop.
Gen. Mohammad Pakpour replaced him as the next commander in chief, according to the Iranian state news agency IRNA.
Maj. Gen. Mohammad Bagheri, chief of staff of the armed forces and second-highest commander to Ali Khamenei
The chief of staff of the Iranian armed forces since 2016 was killed in the same attacks as Salami on Friday.
Bagheri was one of the highest-ranking officers. The commander is one of the only positions that reports directly to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
In his position, he coordinated Iran’s armed forces, both regular and paramilitary units, and played a central role in shaping Iran’s military doctrine, according to Euro News.
Maj. Gen. Abolrahim Mousavi has replaced him, according to the IRNA.
Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, head of Guard airspace unit
Amir Ali Hajizadeh was also killed on Friday. According to the Israeli military, Hajizadeh assembled an underground command center to prepare for an attack on Israel.
Some of Hajizadeh’s roles were to be responsible for direct aerial attacks against Israel and to maintain being a valued commander within Iran’s security establishment.
“IAF fighter jets struck the command center where Commander of the IRFC’s Air Force Amir Ali Hajizadeh was located along other senior officials,” according to the Israeli military.
ELIMINATED: Commander of the IRGC's Air Force & Senior Chain of Command of the Air Force
The Intelligence Directorate identified that the senior chain of command of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Air Force had assembled in an underground command center to… pic.twitter.com/9oQHSVieC4
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) June 13, 2025
Mohammad Kazemi, head of Guard Intelligence Organization
Kazemi was killed by Israeli fighter jets who struck a Tehran structure housing top intelligence officials, according to the Israeli military, on Monday.
He was “directly responsible for human rights violations against all Iranian citizens from various ethnicities, religions, orientations, professions, and political views,” according to the Spreading Justice database.
Israeli military officials also said in a profile that Kazemi was responsible for the surveillance of Iranian civilians to suppress others, responsible for counterintelligence, targeting opponents, espionage, and “in charge of assembling the intelligence situational assessment within the organization for terrorist operations.”
Mohammad Hassan Mohaqiq, Kazemi’s deputy
Kazemi’s deputy, Mohammad Hassan Mohaqiq, was also killed in the Monday strikes.
Previously, Mohaqiq served as chairman of the strategic intelligence division within the Guard, according to the Israeli military. Mohaqiq also played a major role in Iran’s terrorist operations against Israel, the West, and regional countries.
Mohsen Bakri, head of Quds Force, and his deputy, Abu al Fadl Nikouei
Alongside both Kazemi and Mohaqiq, Bakri, the head of the Quds Force, an Iranian intelligence agency, and his deputy, Nikouei, were also killed.
The Quds Force is a powerful branch within the Guard that supports nonstate organizations in several countries.
The pair played a significant role in maintaining Iranian presence in Syria and supporting Hezbollah in Lebanon, according to the Israeli military.
Ali Shadmani, wartime chief of staff
On Tuesday, Ali Shadmani, Iran’s most senior military official and Khamenei’s closest military adviser, was killed in an Israeli strike in central Tehran, Israeli military officials said in an X post.
His predecessor, Maj. Gen. Gholamali Rashid was killed in the Friday strikes. Following the attack, Shadmani was appointed and only held the position for four days.
In his roles, he had a direct influence on Iran’s offensive plans against Israel and played a crucial role in the country’s security.
“For the second time in 5 days—the IDF has eliminated Iran’s War-Time Chief of Staff, the regime’s top military commander,” the Israeli military posted.
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Other important officials killed
- Gen. Gholamali Rashid, former deputy commander in chief of the armed forces
- Gen. Gholamreza Mehrabi, deputy intelligence chief of the armed forces
- Gen. Mehdi Rabbani, deputy commander of operations for the armed forces
- Gen. Davood Sheikkian, commander of air defense
- Gen. Khosro Hassani, deputy intelligence chief of the aerospace unit
Two Iranian nuclear scientists, Foreydoun Abbasi and Mohammad Mehdi Tehranji, were also killed.
