Amid the ongoing Iran-Israel war, unfortunate news of casualties has been reported constantly. One of these was the assassination of the newly appointed Chief of Staff (COS) of Iran, Ali Shadmani.
The major general was appointed only four days ago after his predecessor, Commander-in-Chief Alaa Ali Rashid, who was also assassinated by Israel on June 13 during the start of Operation Rising Lion.
IDF wrote on X, “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.”
Iran’s Chief of Staff Assassinated By Israel
In a statement, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said it had killed Major General Shadmani in the heart of Tehran.
He was appointed by Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as Major General on June 13, following the death of Major General Gholam Ali Rashid in a previous Israeli attack. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei announced on his English-language X account that Shadmani would be taking Rashid’s place.
“In view of Lt. Gen. Gholamali Rashid’s martyrdom at the hands of the vile Zionist regime, and in light of Major General Ali Shadmani’s meritorious service and valuable experience, I confer the rank of Major Gen. & appoint him Commander of the Khatam al-Anbiya (pbuh) Central HQ,” Khamenei wrote in a post on X.
Seems like this didn’t last long and Israel Defence Forces (IDF) have stated that they had killed Major General Shadmani in the heart of Tehran on June 17 2025. Despite Iran not issuing its own confirmation, multiple outlets reported Shadmani’s death at Israel’s hands.
Whether or not Tehran confirms the circumstances surrounding Shadmani’s death, the mere speculation is enough to signal a dramatic shift. Why? Because he was a central node in the military. Removing him is akin to cutting the head off a tactical network that spans across several conflict zones, especially during the Middle East shadow war.
Who was Ali Shadmani? Iran’s Wartime Chief of Staff
Ali Shadmani held one of the most critical positions in Iran’s military infrastructure. These include the position of Deputy Commander of the IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) and the Chief of Staff of Iran’s Armed Forces during wartime.
It placed him at the helm of Iran’s wartime planning, strategy, and coordination across multiple fronts; from Tehran to proxy forces in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen.
While never as publicly visible as figures like Qassem Soleimani (the former Quds Force commander killed by a U.S. drone strike in 2020), Shadmani operated with strategic influence and authority.
In Iran’s military structure, he was the man trusted to execute critical decisions during times of high tension and war, especially when the country’s regional influence was at stake.
Even until the August of 2024, he made strong statements vowing “harsh revenge” over the assassination of Hamas’s Ismail Haniyeh and got sanctions imposed on his head by the European Union in October 2024.
How did Iran Become an Enemy of Israel?
To understand why someone like Ali Shadmani would be on Israel’s target list, you need to go back to the roots of Iran-Israel hostility.
Before the 1979 Iranian Revolution, Iran and Israel had diplomatic and even military ties. However, once the Islamic Republic was born after the Iranian revolution, everything changed.
No longer was the government a puppet to the Zionists, and Ayatollah Khomeini’s regime even denounced Israel as an “illegitimate Zionist state.” Israel couldn’t tolerate this, especially after Iran started supporting Hezbollah and Hamas.
This was further fueled, when Iran started it’s nuclear programme which the Israel couldn’t tolerate as this would threaten it’s nuclear supremacy in the region (no questions were asked on how Israel developed a Nuclear weapon in the first place). Since then both the nations have gone head to head with each other.
It’s a chilling reminder that in today’s geopolitical landscape, the real wars are often fought in the shadows, with far-reaching consequences.
As the world watches, the question now is what comes next? Whose throat is it this time? Hopefully not the supreme leader’s.
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