Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei, on Friday appointed a new military commander after the death of the main security official in Israeli air strikes in Tehran.
The appointment came after Israel launched a wave of air strikes Friday morning which targeted Tehran and other Iranian cities.
The Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, Mohammad Bagheri, Commander of the Islamic Revolution Corps (IRGC), Hossein Salami, and Gholam-Ali Rashid, Head of the Khatam Al-Anbiya central headquarters, was killed in an air strike.
Khamenei named Abdolrahim Mousavi as the new Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, Mohammad Pakpour as IRGC’s new commander, and Ali Shadmani to lead the Khatam Al-Anbiya Center Headquarters.
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Before their promise, Mousavi led the regular troops, Pakpour ordered IRGC ground forces, and Shadmani served as Deputy Coordinator at Khatam Al-Anbiya.
In addition to the top military leaders, Israeli forces also killed six Iranian nuclear scientists, including Mohammad-Mehdi Tehranchi and Fereydoun Abbasi, as well as a number of unspecified civilians.
In a statement, Khamenei condemned the attack and warned that Israel would face a “severe punishment” for what he called the crime against Iran.