At least 20 Iranian commanders, six nuclear scientists killed in Israeli attacks

Iran said several top commanders and six nuclear scientists were killed in Israeli strikes on Friday targeting Iran’s nuclear facilities, ballistic missile factories and military commanders to prevent Tehran from developing an atomic weapon.

At least 20 senior Iranian commanders, including the head of the revolutionary guards, Aerospace Force Commander Amir Ali Hajizadeh, were killed in Israel’s strikes on Iran on Friday, two regional sources told Reuters.

Below is a list of the commanders and scientists killed:

HOSSEIN SALAMI

Salami was commander-in-chief of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards Corps, or IRGC. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appointed Salami, who was born in 1960, as head of the IRGC in 2019.

MOHAMMAD BAGHERI

A former IRGC commander, Major General Bagheri was chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces from 2016. Born in 1960, Bagheri joined the Guards during the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s.

AMIR ALI HAJIZADEH

Hajizadeh was the head of the Revolutionary Guards’ Aerospace Force. Israel has identified him as the central figure responsible for directing aerial attacks against its territory. In 2020, Hajizadeh took responsibility for the downing of a Ukrainian passenger plane, which occurred shortly after Iran launched missile strikes on U.S. targets in Iraq in retaliation for the U.S. drone strike that killed Qassem Soleimani.

GHOLAMALI RASHID

Major General Rashid was head of the IRGC’s Khatam al Anbia headquarters. He previously served as deputy chief of staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, and fought for Iran during the 1980s war with Iraq.

FEREYDOUN ABBASI-DAVANI

Abbasi, a nuclear scientist, served as head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization from 2011 to 2013. A hardliner, Abbasi was a member of parliament from 2020 to 2024.

MOHAMMAD MEHDI TEHRANCHI

Tehranchi, a nuclear scientist, was head of Iran’s Islamic Azad University in Tehran.

Four other scientists killed in Friday’s strikes are Abdolhamid Manouchehr, Ahmad Reza Zolfaghari, Amirhossein Feghi and Motalibizadeh.