Hossein Salami, the commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), was reportedly killed early Friday during Israeli airstrikes, marking the highest-ranking Iranian official to fall in the recent attacks.
At 65 years old, Salami was known for his uncompromising and aggressive stance toward Iran’s adversaries, particularly Israel and the United States. Just a month before his death, he had issued a stark warning that Tehran would “open the gates of hell” if attacked by either nation.
Israel carried out extensive strikes targeting Iranian nuclear sites, ballistic missile factories, and military leaders, despite warnings from then-US President Donald Trump against disrupting ongoing nuclear negotiations. Tehran responded by threatening that both Israel and the US—which denies involvement—would face “heavy consequences,” raising fears of a broader conflict engulfing the already volatile region.
Among those killed alongside Salami were Mohammad Bagheri, Iran’s armed forces Chief of Staff; Gholamali Rashid, deputy commander of the armed forces; and several nuclear scientists.
Only a day before the attack, Salami declared Iran was “fully prepared for any scenario or situation.” He criticized opponents for underestimating Iran’s military strength, saying, “The enemy believes it can fight Iran as it does the defenseless Palestinians under Israeli siege. We are experienced and battle-hardened.”
Salami joined the Revolutionary Guards in 1980 during the Iran-Iraq War, rising through the ranks to become deputy commander in 2009 and commander ten years later. Since the early 2000s, he had been targeted by UN and US sanctions for his involvement in Iran’s nuclear and military programs.
Video captures Tehran following Israel’s “preemptive strike” on Iran
He frequently boasted about Iran’s growing military power, once stating the country was “on the verge of becoming a global power.” Salami openly welcomed the possibility of armed conflict with Israel and the US. After an Israeli strike on Iranian targets in Syria in 2019, he vowed to “erase the Zionist regime” from the political map.
Following another strike in April of the previous year that killed seven Revolutionary Guard members—including two generals—at the Iranian embassy in Syria, Salami issued a similar threat, saying, “Our courageous men will punish the Zionist regime.”
Iran and Israel were once allies before the 1979 Iranian Revolution transformed the regime and entrenched opposition to Israel as a core ideological principle. Today, Iran’s government refuses to recognize Israel’s right to exist. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has described Israel as a “cancerous tumor” destined for destruction.
Israel considers Iran’s hostile rhetoric a dire existential threat and criticizes Tehran’s expansion of proxy militias across the Middle East, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, which openly calls for Israel’s destruction.
Salami and other senior IRGC commanders regularly advised Iran’s supreme leader, reflecting their political as well as military significance.
Established by Iran’s clerical leadership four decades ago, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was created to safeguard the Islamic regime and serve as a counterbalance to the conventional military, which the regime distrusted.
With over 190,000 active personnel and its own land, naval, and air units, the Revolutionary Guards stand as one of Iran’s most influential and feared military and political forces. Unlike the regular army, which defends Iran’s borders, the IRGC’s primary mission is protecting the regime itself.
Reporting directly to the supreme leader, the IRGC wields immense power largely unchecked by other governmental institutions. It oversees Iran’s strategic weapons and commands the paramilitary Basij Resistance Force, often deployed to suppress internal dissent.
The IRGC also controls an estimated third of Iran’s economy through an extensive network of subsidiaries and trusts, managing billions of dollars’ worth of construction and engineering projects.
Regionally, the Revolutionary Guards extend their influence by supplying financial aid, weapons, technology, training, and strategic guidance to allied governments and militant groups. Its elite Quds Force, a clandestine overseas operations unit, maintains ties with various armed factions across Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, the Palestinian territories, and Yemen.
Former IRGC members continue to hold key political roles within Iran’s government and parliament, including notable figures such as former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and former parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani.
