Israel’s precise attacks on Iran’s nuclear and missile sites early on Friday resulted in the deaths of at least 20 top Iranian officials, dealing a serious setback to Tehran’s ruling regime.

Among those killed in the Israel Defense Forces airstrikes was Gen. Hossein Salami, the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), who had a notable history of issuing threats to the U.S. and Israel.

Also killed was Gen. Mohammad Bagheri, the chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces, further increasing the severity of the strikes and their consequences for Iran’s military hierarchy.

Ali Hajizadeh, the head of the IRGC Aerospace Force, was also killed, as was Lt. Gen. Gholamali Rashid, who was the head of the IRGC’s Khatam-al Anbiya Central Headquarters, which coordinates joint Iranian military operations.

Gen. Hossein Salami, Gen. Mohammad Bagheri, Brig. Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh and Lt. Gen. Gholamali Rashid. (Reuters)

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Commander-in-Chief Major Gen. Hossein Salami, third from right, and Iranian Armed Forces Chief of Staff, Major Gen, Mohammad Bagheri, far right, are seen during a meeting with Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran, Iran, on April 21, 2024.  (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA/Reuters)

Rashid led the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, a key strategic command center within Iran’s military, tasked with planning and coordinating joint military operations within the Iranian forces.