Israel Tuesday claimed to have killed Major General Ali Shadmani, the “war-time chief-of-staff” and a top commander in Tehran’s armed forces. Since the beginning of Operation Rising Lion, Tel Aviv has targeted with precision the senior leadership of Iran’s military forces, reminiscent of its take-down of Hezbollah’s senior leadership last year in Lebanon.

“Ali Shadmani, Iran’s senior-most military official and Khamenei’s closest military advisor, was killed in an IAF strike in central Tehran, following precise intelligence,” the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) wrote on X.

Shadmani was appointed commander of Khatam al-Anbiya central headquarters on 13 June, by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, after his predecessor Lieutenant General Gholam Ali Rashid was killed earlier the same day in an Israeli strike.

Israel’s strikes on 13 June involved at least 200 aircraft and the deployment of explosive drones and precision weapons inside of Iran, well in advance by Israel’s spy agency Mossad, according to reports. The explosive drones and precision weapons suppressed Iran’s air defences, which allowed the Israeli air force to carry out its strikes against at least 100 targets, according to the Associated Press. 

A number of nuclear scientists were also killed during the opening round of strikes. As the conflict continues for its fifth day, the Israeli military has claimed air superiority over the skies of Iran, with Tehran and its nuclear facilities under attack. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has confirmed that the uranium enrichment facility at Natanz has been hit, while other nuclear infrastructure at Isfahan has also been impacted.

IAEA Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi, however, told an emergency session of the UN Security Council last week that the Israeli strikes primarily targeted above-ground infrastructure.

US President Donald Trump cut short his visit to Canada for the G7 Leaders’ Summit to return to Washington D.C. late Monday evening to take stock of the current situation in West Asia. According to reports, Trump is mulling a potential intervention in the current conflict, given that Iran’s deepest nuclear facility—Fordow—is beyond Israel’s current capacity to hit.

Who is Ali Shadmani?

On 13 June, Ali Shadmani was conferred the rank of Major General and command of the Khatam al-Anbiya central headquarters by Ayatollah Khamenei. The Supreme Leader of Iran moved quickly to replace the chief of staff of the armed forces, commander of IRGC and the appointment of Shadmani, to prevent a vacuum of power in these positions following Israel’s strikes.

“You’re expected to provide strategic, operational planning and guidance in confronting threats and accurately identifying the combat readiness of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Armed Forces through a synergistic approach in cooperation with the General Staff of the Armed Forces,” the Iranian Supreme Leader said in his decree appointing Shadmani to the post.

According to Tel Aviv, Shadmani is a confidante of Ayatollah Khamenei and the “closest military advisor” to the Supreme Leader of Iran.

The Khatam al-Anbia central headquarters, media reports indicate, is a subdivision of the Iranian Armed Forces tasked with the layout and arrangement of operations involving different military units.

The Israeli military has reportedly said that the Khatam al-Anbiya central headquarters manages combat operations and approves of Iran’s warplans. Before being appointed as its commander, Shadmani was deputy commander of the Khatam al-Anbiya central headquarters and head of the operations directorate in the general staff forum of the Iranian armed forces, according to media reports.

If Shadmani is confirmed as dead by Iran, it would mark yet another loss to its top brass since Israeli strikes on 13 June.

On Monday, the IDF claimed to have killed heads of the intelligence wings of IRGC and Quds Force, Mohammed Kazemi and Mohsen Bakhri respectively, as well as their deputies Mohammed Hassan Mohaqiq and Abu al-Fadl Nikouei.

These strikes are precise and based on specific intelligence inputs, the IDF has said in its statement on the social media platform X.

Death of Iranian commanders Since the beginning of Israel’s strikes at least 10 military officials, a number of major nuclear scientists and the individual overseeing Iran’s negotiations with the US over its nuclear programme have all been killed.

In the opening strikes, Bagheri, Salami and Rashid were all confirmed killed by the Iranian state media. Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the IRGC aerospace force, behind last year’s missile launches towards Israel was killed in an Israeli strike on 13 June, 2025.

General Mehdi Rabbani, the deputy commander of operations for the armed forces and General Gholamreza Mehrabi, the deputy intelligence chief for the armed forces have all been confirmed as killed by Iranian state media.

The other officials confirmed as killed include General Davood Sheikhian, the commander of the air defence system of the IRGC aerospace force and General Khosro Hassani, the deputy intelligence chief of the IRGC aerospace force were all confirmed killed in Israeli airstrikes.

On Monday, Kazemi and Mohaqiq, from the intelligence wing of the IRGC were all killed along with Bakhri and Fadl Nikoeui.

Ali Shamkhani, a close aide to Ayatollah Khamenei, who oversaw the negotiations with the US on the negotiations over Iran’s nuclear programme was also confirmed dead. Shamkhani, who once ran for President of Iran in 2001, is reported to have represented Iran in the talks, which led to a breakthrough and restoration of ties with Saudi Arabia, after years of a diplomatic chill between the two West Asian nations. He was confirmed killed in Israel’s opening strikes along with nuclear scientists Fereydoon Abbasi, the former head of the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran and Mohammad Mehdi Tehranji, a theoretical physicist.