Israel on Friday launched a wide-ranging and coordinated offensive across Iran, targeting key military and nuclear installations. Among the casualties were two of Iran’s most powerful military figures—General Mohammad Bagheri, the armed forces chief of staff, and General Hossein Salami, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Who Were the Key Figures Killed?
General Mohammad Bagheri – Chief of Staff of Iran’s Armed Forces
General Mohammad Bagheri held the highest position within Iran’s military establishment, overseeing the regular army, the elite Revolutionary Guards, and the country’s powerful ballistic missile programme.
Appointed in 2016, Bagheri operated directly under Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who serves as the commander-in-chief of Iran’s armed forces. His influence extended across virtually all Iranian military institutions, and he often appeared in uniform at the launch of underground military facilities and other strategic events.
Bagheri played a pivotal role in expanding and refining Iran’s missile capabilities—originally developed during the Iran-Iraq war to offset deficiencies in Iran’s air force. Over time, these missiles evolved to become more precise and longer-ranged, something Israel has consistently viewed as a significant threat.
“The Zionist enemy should know that it is nearing the end of its miserable life,” Bagheri once warned, referring to Israel as a “cancerous tumour.”
In 2022, Bagheri declared Iran “more than self-sufficient” in arms production, asserting that the nation could become a major global arms exporter if international sanctions were lifted. He had been under U.S. sanctions since Donald Trump’s presidency and was later targeted by EU sanctions over Iran’s support for Russia during the
Ukraine war.
Mocking the EU sanctions at the time, he said Europe could use Iran’s frozen assets to “buy coal” for winter heating.
Bagheri, born in June 1960, succeeded General Hassan Firouzabadi in 2016. Firouzabadi had previously served for 26 years and gained notoriety for claiming Western spies used lizards to detect nuclear activity.
General Hossein Salami – Commander of the Revolutionary Guards
General Hossein Salami, the influential head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, was a close ally of Supreme Leader Khamenei and a well-known hardliner. Born in 1960, Salami joined the IRGC in 1980 at the outset of the Iran-Iraq war and spent his entire career in the Guards.
He previously led the IRGC’s Aerospace Force and served as deputy commander for nine years before taking over as top commander in 2019 during a sweeping reshuffle.
Salami was known for his fiery rhetoric. During a visit to an underground missile facility in January, he warned Israel and the U.S., saying: “If you make the slightest mistake, we will open the gates of hell for you.”
He was also a vocal proponent of Iran’s aggressive stance against Israel. In a 2018 speech, he said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should “learn to swim in the Mediterranean Sea” in preparation to flee the region.
Under his leadership, the IRGC solidified its role in shaping Iran’s regional strategy, backing militant groups like Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza. These alliances contributed to escalating tensions with Israel, culminating in the first direct exchanges of fire between the two countries in 2023.
Salami was killed during one of the Israeli strikes on Friday, which analysts say marks a major escalation in the long-simmering conflict.
AFP
