Iran has reported the deaths of several high-ranking officials and six nuclear scientists as a result of Israeli airstrikes on Friday. These attacks targeted Iranian nuclear facilities, ballistic missile production sites, and military leaders in an effort to hinder Tehran’s progress toward developing nuclear weapons.
Among the deceased are Hossein Salami, the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps born in 1960, Mohammad Bagheri, the former commander of the Revolutionary Guard and current head of the Iranian General Staff, Gholam Ali Rashid, the head of the Khatam al-Anbiya Headquarters within the Revolutionary Guard, and Fereydoun Abbasi-Davani, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran. Additionally, Mohammad Mehdi Tehranji, president of Azad University in Tehran, was also killed.
The Israeli strikes also resulted in the deaths of four Iranian scientists: Abdol Hamid Manouchehri, Ahmad Reza Zolfaghari, Amir Hossein Faqihi, and Matlab Zadeh.
Regional sources have informed Reuters that at least 20 senior Iranian military leaders, including the commander of the Revolutionary Guard and Aerospace Force, Amir Ali Hajizadeh, were killed in the Israeli operations targeting Iran on Friday.