Israel kills Iran's top commander who took charge days ago
What's the story
Israel on Tuesday claimed that its airstrike in Tehran killed Major General Ali Shadmani, Iran's wartime chief of staff and the country's highest operational military commander. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Shadmani was in charge of the Khatam-al Anbiya Central Headquarters—Iran's wartime command—and had only been in the role for four days before his death. Iran has not confirmed or denied these claims so far.
Role
Shadmani was overseeing the IRGC and regular armed forces
Shadmani had replaced Major General Gholam Ali Rashid, who was killed last week, as the new commander of Khatam al-Anbia Central Headquarters. The headquarters is part of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), reported AP. The IDF described him as Iran's "war chief of staff" and the closest top military figure to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He "commanded both the [Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps] and the Iranian Armed Forces," the IDF said.
Appointment
Khamenei's announcement of Shadmani's appointment
Khamenei had announced Shadmani's appointment as the new head of the Khatam-al Anbiya Central HQ in a post on X last week. He wrote, "In view of Lt. Gen. Gholamali Rashid's martyrdom at the hands of the vile Zionist regime, and in light of Major General Ali Shadmani's meritorious services & valuable experience, I confer the rank of Major Gen. & appoint him Commander of the Khatam al-Anbiya (pbuh) Central HQ."
Ongoing conflict
Top 3 Iran military commanders killed last week
Shadmani is the latest top military commander to be killed in an Israeli strike. Before him, Israel's unprecedented strike killed Major General Hossein Salami, the head of the secretive IRGC; Mohammad Bagheri, the chief of staff of Iran's armed forces; and Ali Shamkhani, a top advisor to Iran's Supreme Leader Khamenei. Since the strikes by Israel that also destroyed Iran's nuclear sites and killed several nuclear scientists, the two countries have been engaged in war for five days now.
International response
Joint statement at G7 summit on Israel-Iran conflict
The news of Shadmani's death came hours after world leaders at the G7 Summit in Canada issued a joint statement on the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict. The statement said, "We, the leaders of the G7, reiterate our commitment to peace and stability in the Middle East. In this context, we affirm that Israel has a right to defend itself. We reiterate our support for the security of Israel."