Tehran (Web Desk/ Agencies): In a major escalation of tensions in the Middle East, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has appointed new top military commanders following a wave of Israeli airstrikes that reportedly killed several senior Iranian officials and nuclear scientists.
The strikes targeted critical infrastructure, including nuclear facilities, missile production sites, and high-ranking personnel, in what appears to be a broad effort to disrupt Tehran’s nuclear ambitions and military capabilities.
According to Iranian media and eyewitness accounts, powerful explosions were reported across multiple sites, including the heavily fortified uranium enrichment facility at Natanz.
As news of the attacks broke, Israel declared a state of emergency, anticipating retaliatory strikes in the form of missiles and drones.
Two regional sources told Reuters that the death toll among Iran’s senior command was significant, with at least 20 high-level figures killed in the strikes. Among them were top leaders of the Revolutionary Guards and key scientists tied to Iran’s nuclear programme.
In swift response to the confirmed deaths, Ayatollah Khamenei announced a new leadership structure within the armed forces.
He appointed Major General Mohammad Pakpour as the new commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), replacing Hossein Salami. Major General Abdulrahim Mousavi was named to succeed Mohammad Bagheri as the chief of the general staff of Iran’s armed forces.
Additionally, Major General Ali Shademani was appointed to head the Khatam al-Anbia Headquarters, succeeding Major General Gholamali Rashid.
The attacks have decapitated much of Iran’s senior military leadership.
Among the dead is Mohammad Bagheri, who served as chief of staff of the armed forces since 2016 and was a former IRGC commander. Hossein Salami, born in 1960, was appointed as commander-in-chief of the IRGC in 2019 by Khamenei.
Another significant loss is Major General Gholamali Rashid, who led the IRGC’s Khatam al-Anbia headquarters and previously held the position of deputy chief of staff of the Iranian Armed Forces.
The commander of the Revolutionary Guards’ Aerospace Force, Amir Ali Hajizadeh, was also killed. He had been a central figure in coordinating aerial attacks against Israel, according to Israeli sources.
Among the civilian leadership, Ali Shamkhani, a high-ranking political figure and close adviser to Khamenei, was also killed.
Shamkhani had overseen nuclear negotiations with the United States as part of a committee directly appointed by the supreme leader. Prominent nuclear scientist Fereydoun Abbasi, who led Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation between 2011 and 2013, was confirmed dead as well.
Mohammad Mehdi Tehranji, a theoretical physicist and president of the Islamic Azad University in Tehran, was another of the casualties.
Further details released by Iranian news agencies identified four additional scientists who were killed.
Abdolhamid Minouchehr, a PhD holder in nuclear engineering and dean at Shahid Beheshti University, had been heavily involved in research aimed at improving the safety and efficiency of nuclear reactors.
Ahmad Reza Zolfaghari, a professor of nuclear engineering at the same university, was also among those killed.
Amir Hossein Faghihi, previously vice president of the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran and head of the Nuclear Science and Technology Research Institute, was confirmed dead. A nuclear scientist referred to only as Motallebzadeh was killed alongside his wife in what appears to have been a targeted strike.
In the wake of the attacks, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi sent a formal letter to the United Nations Security Council, accusing Israel of committing an act of war.
In the letter, Araghchi described the strikes as a “declaration of war” and called for urgent international intervention. “Israel has now crossed every red line, and the international community must not allow these crimes to go unpunished,” he wrote.
He further asserted, “Iran reaffirms its inherent right to self-defence as enshrined in Article 51 of the UN Charter and will respond decisively and proportionately to these unlawful and cowardly acts.”
The invocation of Article 51, which affirms the right of individual or collective self-defence against armed attack, signals Iran’s intent to justify retaliatory measures under international law.
The coming days are expected to be critical as both regional actors and global powers monitor Iran’s next move and consider the broader implications for regional stability.