by Temitope Oladeji
13/6/2025
Hossein Salami, the commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), was killed in a series of Israeli airstrikes early Friday, making him the highest-ranking Iranian official to die in the recent escalation between the two countries.
Salami, aged 65, was a staunch hardliner known for his fierce rhetoric against Israel and the United States.
Just weeks before his death, he had warned that Tehran would “open the gates of hell” if attacked by either nation.
Israel launched the widescale drone and missile strikes targeting what it described as nuclear sites, ballistic missile production facilities, and senior military figures.
The offensive proceeded despite warnings from U.S. President Donald Trump, who urged Israel not to jeopardize ongoing negotiations over a possible nuclear agreement with Iran.
Iran responded with fury, threatening both Israel and the U.S. despite Washington denying any involvement in the attack, but Tehran insisted that Washington would face severe consequences.
The attack has sparked fears of broader conflict in an already volatile region.
Among those also killed were Mohammad Bagheri, Chief of Staff of Iran’s armed forces, Gholamali Rashid, deputy commander of the military, and several nuclear scientists, according to Iranian state media.
Just a day before the strikes, Salami had reaffirmed Iran’s preparedness for military confrontation. “We are fully ready for any scenarios, situations, and circumstances,” he stated.
“The enemy thinks it can fight Iran like it does the defenseless Palestinians under siege. But we are experienced and battle-hardened.”
Salami joined the IRGC in 1980 during the Iran-Iraq War and steadily rose, becoming deputy commander in 2009 and taking full command in 2019.
He had long been sanctioned by both the United Nations Security Council and the United States for his role in advancing Iran’s nuclear and military programs.
Known for his provocative statements, Salami once claimed that Iran was “on the verge of becoming a world power” and openly welcomed the prospect of military conflict with Israel and the U.S. After an Israeli strike on Iranian assets in Syria in 2019, he vowed to “wipe the Zionist regime off the political map.”
Following a 2024 Israeli attack on Iran’s embassy in Syria, which killed two generals and five other IRGC members, Salami had again warned that Iran’s forces would “punish the Zionist regime.”
The animosity between Iran and Israel has deep historical roots.
The two nations were allies before the 1979 Iranian Revolution, which ushered in a regime that made opposition to Israel a central ideological pillar.
Today, Iran does not recognize Israel’s right to exist. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has frequently referred to Israel as a “cancerous tumor” that will be “uprooted and destroyed.”
Israel, in turn, sees Iran as an existential threat due to its aggressive rhetoric, its nuclear ambitions, and its support for regional proxy forces such as Hezbollah, which have vowed to bring about Israel’s destruction.
The death of Salami and other top Iranian figures marks a significant escalation in tensions and raises the specter of broader military conflict in the Middle East.