Top IRGC intelligence official, Quds commander killed in airstrike, IDF says

A U.S.-Israeli airstrike on Monday killed the leader of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps’ intelligence branch, according to Israel’s Ministry of Defense.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed that Maj. Gen. Majid Khademi had been in a targeted strike in Tehran on Monday night. Israel said that Khademi had been a key player within the IRGC for nearly five decades and was involved in attacks on Iranians, Americans and Israelis.

“Khademi worked to advance terrorist activities against the State of Israel and against Jewish targets worldwide. He also took part in attempts to target American individuals and was responsible for monitoring Iranian civilians as part of the regime’s suppression of internal protests,” the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement.

Iran has not confirmed Khademi’s death. Khademi was one of the many Iranian military officials who had held his position for less than a year after his predecessor was killed by Israeli airstrikes in June.

IRGC Commander in Chief Ahmad Vahidi is a new appointee as well, taking over the position after the death of Mohammad Pakpour in the opening hours of the war.

Israel also said an overnight strike killed Commander Asghar Bakri, leader of Iran’s Unit 840 within the Quds Force, the IRGC’s unconventional warfare branch.

“Whoever acts to murder our citizens, whoever directs terror against the State of Israel, whoever builds the Iranian axis of evil, bears responsibility for his own blood,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, announcing Bakri’s killing on social media.

Israel said that the killings were in retaliation for Iran’s repeated attacks on civilian centers in Israel and that assassinations would continue until those strikes stop.

The U.S. and Israel have continued a steady stream of successful assassinations of high-profile Iranian officials since the war began in late February, starting with the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamaeni in the first hours of the conflict.

Since then, Israeli and U.S. attacks have assassinated key leaders in Iran’s political and military leadership, including the chief of its navy and governmental intelligence services. Israeli and U.S. strikes have also killed several of Iran’s nuclear scientists. 

According to Israel, the assassination campaign is intended to sponsor chaos among Iran’s military leadership, making it easier to accomplish the war’s operational goals. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also implied that the disorder caused by the strikes could eventually inspire the Iranian people to rise and overthrow the Islamic republic.

However, despite devastating attacks on its leadership and domestic security infrastructure, the IRGC has maintained effective control in Iran’s major urban centers, and international watchdog organizations have not reported any widespread protests.