Here Are the Top Iranian Generals and Scientists Targeted and Killed by Israeli Strikes—and What We Know About Them

Israel attacked Iran in a “precise and integrated preemptive strike” against Iranian nuclear facilities and military targets. The Israeli Air Force (IAF) said in a statement that the overnight strikes were carried out with the “aim of damaging the Iranian nuclear program and in response to the Iranian regime’s ongoing aggression against Israel.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that the aim of the strikes, part of “Operation Rising Lion,” was to dismantle the Iranian nuclear programme, which has long been a cause of concern.

“In recent months, Iran has taken steps that it has never taken before. Steps to weaponize this enriched uranium and if not stopped, Iran could produce a nuclear weapon in a very short time,” Netanyahu said in a video statement. “This operation will continue for as many days as it takes to remove this threat.”

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the U.S. was not involved in the military action and warned Iran not to target the U.S.

“Tonight, Israel took unilateral action against Iran. We are not involved in strikes against Iran and our top priority is protecting American forces in the region. Israel advised us that they believe this action was necessary for its self-defense,” said Marco, in a statement shared by the White House. “President Trump and the Administration have taken all necessary steps to protect our forces and remain in close contact with our regional partners. Let me be clear: Iran should not target U.S. interests or personnel.”

Speaking out via Truth Social on Friday morning, Trump urged Iran to make a deal regarding its nuclear facilities.

“I gave Iran chance after chance to make a deal. I told them, in the strongest of words, to ‘just do it,’ but no matter how hard they tried, no matter how close they got, they just couldn’t get it done…. Certain Iranian hardliner’s spoke bravely, but they didn’t know what was about to happen. They are all DEAD now, and it will only get worse,” Trump said. “There has already been great death and destruction, but there is still time to make this slaughter, with the next already planned attacks being even more brutal, come to an end. Iran must make a deal, before there is nothing left, and save what was once known as the Iranian Empire. No more death, no more destruction, JUST DO IT, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.”

Iran vowed retaliation soon after Israel’s strikes landed, saying “this is the voice of a nation and a government that calls the world to witness that we were not the initiators of war, but the end of this story will be written by Iran’s hand.” The country has since launched around 100 drones to strike Israeli targets. Meanwhile, Jordan has confirmed that drones entered its airspace overnight.

Read More: Iran Vows ‘Painful’ Response After Israeli Attack

The initial Israeli strikes targeted a number of locations across the Iranian capital, Tehran, including the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps HQ.

On Friday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed the deaths of three top Iranian commanders. 

“We can now confirm that the Chief of staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, Commander of the IRGC and the Commander of Iran’s Emergency Command were all eliminated in the Israeli strikes across Iran by more than 200 fighter jets,” the statement read. “These are three ruthless mass murderers with international blood on their hands. The world is a better place without them.”

Scientists working on Iran’s nuclear development have also been reported killed.

Here’s what to know about the figures reportedly killed by the Israeli strikes.

Military personnel

Major General Hossein Salami

Gen. Hossein Salami, commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, Iran’s main military force, was a key figure in the political sphere. It’s understood he reported directly to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Salami rose to power around six years ago, and during his time as Major General of the IRGC, he repeatedly threatened Israel and the U.S. with military action.

After the 2020 death of Qasem Soleimani, the head of IRGC Qud’s Force, who was killed in a U.S. airstrike on a base in Baghdad, Salami said: “If they [Israel and the U.S.] threaten our commanders, none of their commanders will find a safe place” to live. Days after the death of Soleimani, Iran launched a number of missiles at American military facilities in Iraq, with no casualties reported.

Major General Mohammad Bagheri

Mohammad Bagheri served as the Chief of Staff to Iran’s armed forces, a position he acquired in 2016 which saw him oversee an estimated 610,000 personnel. He was the second-highest commander after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Born in 1960, Bagheri was head of “the most senior military body in Iran, which implements policy and monitors and coordinates activities within the armed forces,” according to U.S. Treasury documents detailing sanctions against the general in 2019.

General Gholamali Rashid

Rashid was confirmed dead after the airstrikes in Tehran, alongside his son. He was deputy commander in chief of the armed forces, and commander of Khatam-al Anbiya Central Headquarters, a branch of the IRGC.

Rashid was key in the operations of Iran’s unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) programme, mostly consisting of the use of drones in warfare.

In February, the general vowed to retaliate against any strikes on Iran’s nuclear program after reports of plans from Israel and the U.S. to strike nuclear targets in Iran by “mid-2025.”

Nuclear Scientists

Key scientists working on Iran’s nuclear programme have also been reported as killed in Israel’s strikes on Iran overnight. Tasnim News Agency reports at least six have died.

Among the scientists thought to have died are Fereydoon Abbasi, Mohammad Mahdi Tehranchi, and Seyed Amir Hossein Feqhi.

Abbasi was the former head of Iran’s atomic energy, and also served as an MP (Member of Parliament.) 

Tehranchi was a theoretical physicist and a key expert involved in the AMAD plan, Iran’s significant programme to advance nuclear capabilities launched in the early 2000s. Tehranchi was also the President of Islamic Azad University in Tehran. 

Feqhi was deputy head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, as well as on the faculty for Nuclear Engineering at Shahid Beheshti University in Tehran.