Iran's senior military commander Ali Shadmani killed in airstrike: Israel

TEL AVIV: Iran’s top army commander and close aide to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei – Major General Ali Shadmani – was killed on Tuesday in an airstrike just days after his appointment, Israel’s military claimed.

In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it had killed Major General Shadmani, the newly appointed Commander of the Khatam al-Anbia Headquarters, in an airstrike targeting Iran’s staffed command center in Tehran.

“Shadmani served as War-Time Chief of Staff and Commander of the Emergency Command of the Iranian Armed Forces. He commanded both the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Iranian Army,” the IDF statement added.

Ayatollah Khamenei had appointed Major General Shadmani to the post on June 13, following the death of Major General Gholam Ali Rashid in a previous Israeli attack.

According to Iranian media, the Khatam al-Anbia Central Headquarters is a division of the General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, responsible for planning and coordinating operations involving various military units.

Read More: Iran appoints new army chief, IRGC commander amid ongoing Israeli strikes

Earlier, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei announced the appointment of new chiefs for the Iranian Army and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), following the killing of senior Iranian military leaders in Israeli airstrikes.

According to Mehr News Agency, Ali Khamenei appointed Commander Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi as the new Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces after the chief of staff Major General Mohammad Hossein Bagheri was killed in an Israeli airstrike early on Friday.

Brigadier General Mohammad Pakpour has been named the new Commander-in-Chief of the IRGC. He succeeds Major General Hossein Salami, who was also killed in the Israeli strike.

Ayatollah Khamenei had also appointed Major General Ali Shademani as the new Commander of the Khatam al-Anbia Headquarters, following the killing of Major General Gholam Ali Rashid in the Israel attack.