Who Was Ali Shadmani? Iran's Wartime Chief of Staff Killed Just Days After Taking Charge
Shadmani led Khatam al-Anbiya, which coordinated Iran's combat operations, had played a critical role in shaping military strategies under Operation 'Rising Lion.'
The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) on Tuesday claimed to have killed Iran's top military commander, General Ali Shadmani, in a targeted airstrike on central Tehran. Shadmani, described as the closest military advisor to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had only recently taken charge as the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' (IRGC) Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters — Iran's wartime emergency command center.
Shadmani's appointment came just days earlier, after the killing of his predecessor Lt Gen Gholamali Rashid in another Israeli strike. On June 13, Khamenei named Shadmani as Iran's Wartime Chief of Staff, placing him in command of both the IRGC and the regular Iranian army as tensions surged.
What Israel Has Said
In a post on X, the IDF declared: 'For the second time in 5 days, the IDF has eliminated Iran's War-Time Chief of Staff, the regime's top military commander. Ali Shadmani, Iran's senior-most military official and Khamenei's closest military advisor, was killed in an IAF strike in central Tehran, following precise intelligence."
The IDF added that Shadmani led Khatam al-Anbiya, which coordinated Iran's combat operations and firepower plans, and had played a critical role in shaping military strategies under Operation 'Rising Lion." Before his elevation, he served as Deputy Commander of the emergency command center and Head of the Operations Directorate in Iran's General Staff forum.
There has been no official response from Tehran regarding Shadmani's reported death. If confirmed, it would mark the second high-ranking Iranian commander eliminated by Israel in less than a week, as part of what appears to be a sustained effort to dismantle Iran's military leadership.
First Published:
June 17, 2025, 14:57 IST
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India Today
19 minutes ago
- India Today
Israel begins Gaza City operation despite ceasefire talks, Hamas blames Netanyahu
Israel's military has launched the opening phase of a ground operation to take control of Gaza City, the largest urban stronghold of Hamas, while the government weighed a new ceasefire plan to pause nearly two years of war.'We have begun the preliminary operations and the first stages of the attack on Gaza City, and already now IDF forces are holding the outskirts of Gaza City,' Brigadier General Effie Defrin, the military's spokesperson, told announcement came alongside a call-up of tens of thousands of reservists, a move that signalled Israel's intent to press ahead despite growing international criticism of an operation expected to drive many more Palestinians from their homes, Reuters reported. Defrin said Hamas was now a 'battered and bruised' guerrilla force. 'We will deepen the attack on Hamas in Gaza City, a stronghold of governmental and military terror for the terrorist organization,' he in the day, a military official suggested reservists would not report for duty until September, leaving room for mediators to keep working on bridging the gaps between Hamas and Israel over a truce deal. But after clashes erupted between Israeli troops and Hamas fighters inside Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said he had sped up the timetable for capturing Hamas in a statement on Telegram, accused Netanyahu of blocking peace efforts. 'Netanyahu's disregard for the mediators' proposal proves that he is the real obstructionist of any agreement,' the group security cabinet this month approved plans to expand the military campaign into Gaza City. The Israeli army says it already controls about 75 per cent of the Gaza Strip, nearly two years after the war erupted on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led gunmen killed 1,200 people in southern Israel and seized 251 Gaza health ministry says over 62,000 Palestinians have been killed since then, most of them women and children, though the toll does not distinguish between civilians and say Hamas has accepted a proposal for a 60-day ceasefire that would involve releasing some of the remaining hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israel. Netanyahu's government has insisted that all 50 hostages still in captivity be freed at once. Israeli officials believe only 20 are tensions rose further after Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a far-right member of Netanyahu's coalition, announced final approval for a new settlement project in the occupied West Bank—an initiative widely condemned internationally and seen as erasing any hope for a Palestinian leaders have urged Israel to pull back from a full-scale assault on Gaza City, warning of massive civilian casualties. Israeli officials say they will open safe routes to help civilians leave before the military pushes deeper into the city.- EndsWith inputs from ReutersTune InMust Watch
India Today
30 minutes ago
- India Today
US sanctions international court judges over Netanyahu arrest warrant
The United States on Wednesday expanded its actions against the International Criminal Court (ICC) over its prosecution of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, imposing sanctions on a French judge and others involved in the court's Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced sanctions against Judge Nicolas Guillou of France, who is presiding over a case in which the ICC has issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu. A Canadian judge, Kimberly Prost, was also sanctioned in a separate case related to alleged war crimes in Afghanistan. Two deputy prosecutors, Nazhat Shameem Khan of Fiji and Mame Mandiaye Niang of Senegal,were also described the ICC as 'a national security threat' and said the court had become 'an instrument for lawfare against the United States and our close ally Israel.' He criticised the court for investigating US and Israeli citizens without the consent of either country. France, whose President Emmanuel Macron had visited Washington two days earlier, expressed 'dismay' over the sanctions. A foreign ministry spokesman said the move was 'in contradiction to the principle of an independent judiciary.' The ICC called the sanctions a 'flagrant attack against the independence of an impartial judicial institution.'ICC ALLEGES NETANYAHU OF WAR CRIMES IN GAZAThe court has alleged that Netanyahu is responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Israel's offensive in Gaza, including by intentionally targeting civilians and using starvation as a method of war. Netanyahu thanked Rubio for his 'decisive act against a smear campaign of lies against the State of Israel' and the Israeli launched its military campaign in response to a Hamas attack in which mostly civilians were killed. The ICC has also sought the arrest of former Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and Hamas commander Mohammed Deif, who has since been confirmed killed by Guillou has previously taken part in trials related to Kosovo and Lebanon. He also worked for several years in the United States assisting the Justice Department with judicial cooperation during the Obama administration. Under the US sanctions, Guillou will be barred from entering the United States and any assets he holds in the country will be SANCTIONS REFLECT BROADER OPPOSITION TO ICCThe Trump administration had also imposed sanctions on ICC officials and rejected the court's authority. Rubio had earlier imposed sanctions on four other ICC judges in State Department said the two deputy prosecutors were sanctioned for supporting 'illegitimate ICC actions against Israel,' including supporting the arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Prost, from Canada, was involved in a case that authorised an investigation into alleged crimes committed during the war in Afghanistan, including by US United States, Russia, and Israel are not parties to the ICC. Recently, Trump welcomed Russian President Vladimir Putin to Alaska, despite an ICC arrest warrant against him over the invasion of President Joe Biden's administration had also opposed ICC action against Israel, lifted earlier sanctions, and allowed limited cooperation with the court, including in gathering evidence related to Ukraine.- EndsTune InMust Watch
NDTV
30 minutes ago
- NDTV
Gaza Conquest Plan Shows Israel's "Blatant Disregard" For Mediation: Hamas
Palestinian militant group Hamas said Wednesday that Israeli military plans to conquer Gaza City showed its "blatant disregard" for efforts to broker a ceasefire and hostage release deal in the nearly two-year conflict. "Today's announcement by the terrorist occupation army of the start of an operation against Gaza City and its nearly one million residents and displaced persons... demonstrates... a blatant disregard for the efforts made by the mediators," it said in a statement. (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
