Israel Claims It Has Killed Iran’s Wartime Chief and Khamenei’s Close Aide

Tel Aviv – The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced on Tuesday that it had eliminated Ali Shadmani, Iran’s wartime Chief of Staff and a top military advisor to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in an overnight airstrike in the heart of Tehran.

“Acting on precise intelligence and a sudden opportunity, Israeli fighter jets struck a manned headquarters in central Tehran, killing Ali Shadmani — the highest-ranking military officer and Khamenei’s closest military aide,” the IDF said in a statement on X.

This marks the second high-profile Iranian military commander killed by Israel in recent weeks, part of an ongoing campaign to weaken Iran’s military leadership amid escalating hostilities.

According to the IDF, Shadmani served as Chief of War Staff, Commander of the Armed Forces Emergency Command, and held command over both the Revolutionary Guards and Iran’s regular army. Previously, he was Deputy Commander of the Khatem al-Anbiya Emergency Command and headed the Operations Department of the Armed Forces General Staff.

His assassination, the IDF stated, deals “another blow to the upper chain of command of Iran’s armed forces.” It added that the Khatem al-Anbiya command, which Shadmani led, was responsible for combat coordination and for approving Iranian missile strikes — including operations targeting Israel.

Shadmani had taken over after the death of Lt. Gen. Gholam Ali Rashid, who was killed by Israeli forces last Friday during “Operation Rising Lion,” a targeted military campaign against Iran’s nuclear and military infrastructure.

Following Rashid’s death, Khamenei had posted on X:

“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 and valuable experience, I confer the rank of Major Gen. and appoint him Commander of the Khatam al-Anbiya Central HQ.”

Earlier on Tuesday, the IDF also announced a series of heavy airstrikes on Iranian military installations. According to the military, dozens of sites in western Iran — including surface-to-surface missile depots, UAV storage units, and air-defense launchers — were destroyed.

“These waves of precision strikes targeted key elements of Iran’s missile infrastructure,” said the IDF, claiming significant degradation of Iran’s ability to project force in the region.

The Israel-Iran conflict has now entered its fifth day, with no signs of de-escalation. On Tuesday, multiple Iranian missiles were launched at Israel, prompting air raid sirens in Haifa, the Golan Heights, and other parts of northern Israel.

With inputs from IANS