Seismic Blow to Iran's Chain of Command
Israel’s strikes on Iran on Friday delivered a seismic blow to Iran’s chain of command, with Iranian officials and media reports saying that at least three of the top generals — including the country’s overall military commander — had been killed.
Maj. Gen. Mohammad Bagheri, who is the chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces, was the most senior leader among the dead, according to state media. There was no immediate confirmation from the Iranian armed forces. One of General Bagheri’s deputies was also killed.
Israel has a history of successfully assassinating Iranian security officials and nuclear scientists. But it has generally picked them off one by one in covert operations as part of its long shadow war with Iran and in Lebanon or Syria.
The strikes early on Friday proved to be a stunning escalation of that tactic. Not only did they target Iran’s nuclear program and air defenses, the Israeli attacks also eliminated the top tier of military commanders all at once, targeting their residential homes, including some in secure military complexes. In some areas of the capital, Tehran, entire apartment buildings collapsed.
Gen. Hossein Salami, the commander of the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, was killed in an Israeli strike within Tehran, the Revolutionary Guards said in a statement. General Salami was killed alongside a number of other members of the security body, it said.
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who is also the commander in chief of all armed forces, said in a statement read on state television said that Israel “should anticipate a harsh punishment. The strong hand of the Islamic Republic will not let them go.” He added that a number of senior military commanders and nuclear scientists had been killed in attacks that included residential targets. “The Zionist regime with this crime has created a dark and painful fate for itself, and it will definitely receive it.” Mr. Khamenei did not mention the United States in his statement.
