In a dramatic turn of events in the current Israel-Iran war, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) reported on Tuesday that it had successfully executed an overnight targeted airstrike that claimed the life of Ali Shadmani, a senior Iranian military commander and personal ally of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
In a statement released on X (ex-Twitter), the IDF declared: "In response to good intelligence received by the Intelligence Branch and a fleeting opportunity at midnight, Air Force fighter jets struck a manned headquarters in the center of Tehran and eliminated Ali Shadmani, the War Chief of Staff, the highest-ranking military commander and the closest human to Iranian leader Ali Khamenei."
Shadmani’s elimination marks the second high-profile Iranian military figure targeted by Israel in recent weeks, reflecting a sustained effort by the Israeli military to disrupt the top command structure of Iran’s armed forces.
The IDF exposed that Shadmani occupied several key positions such as Chief of War Staff, Commander of the Armed Forces Emergency Command, and commanding positions in both the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as well as the Iranian army. Before assuming his latest position, he had also been the deputy commander of the Hatem al-Anbiya Emergency Command and commanded the Operations Department in the General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces.
The IDF said that Shadmani was actively involved in approving and preparing Iranian military activities, including offensive tactics aimed at Israel. His killing, the IDF said, is part of a larger series of precision strikes that target the tearing down of the Iranian chain of command.
The Khatem al-Anbiya emergency command, led by Shadmani, was tasked with handling combat situations and sanctioning Iranian fire planning," the military reported. "Shadmani directly controlled Iranian fire plans that targeted harm against Israel in his capacities of service.
Shadmani had just replaced General Gholam Ali Rashid, who was killed last Friday in Israel's "Operation Rising Lion," a strategic campaign designed to counter what Israel believes are imminent threats from Iran's military and nuclear programs.
After Rashid's demise, Khamenei had issued the elevation of Shadmani in a tweet on X: "In consideration of Lt. Gen. Gholamali Rashid's martyrdom at the hands of the abhorrent Zionist regime, & considering Major General Ali Shadmani's merit services & rich experience, I award him the rank of Major Gen. & designate him Commander of the Khatam al-Anbiya Central HQ."
In addition to this high-profile murder, the IDF also announced the leveling of a broad spectrum of Iranian missile capabilities. "Last night, Air Force fighter aircraft conducted several rounds of attacks against several dozen Iranian regime military targets in western Iran," the release read. The attacks struck infrastructure used for missile storage and launching surface-to-surface missiles, UAV depots, and surface-to-air missile launchers.
While the Israel-Iran standoff continued into its fifth straight day, tensions again reached a boil. The Israeli army said several missiles were launched from Iran toward Israeli airspace, sounding air raid sirens in Haifa and many other places throughout northern Israel and the Golan Heights.
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