Who are the Iranian military chiefs and scientists killed by Israel?

Israel's attack on Iran on early Friday morning, which saw dozens of sites bombed, has killed several top Iranian military officials and nuclear scientists.

Here is a list so far of those who are reported to have been killed: 

Major General Hossein Salami

Salami was the commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), an elite military force, who reported directly to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He was the highest ranking official killed in the attacks.

Salami, born in 1960, had been the head of the IRGC since 2019 when he was appointed to the post by Khamenei. His career began in 1980 when he joined the elite force at the start of the eight-year Iran-Iraq War.

He rose through the ranks to become head of the IRGC’s aerospace division and served as its deputy commander for nine years before taking the top job in the 2019 reshuffle.

Salami was known for his strong words. Earlier this year, during a tour of an underground missile base, he warned Iran’s enemies: “If you make the slightest mistake, we will open the gates of hell for you.”

Salami 's replacement was announced within hours of his killing, with Khamenei appointing Major General Mohammad Pakpour to lead the IRGC.

Major General Mohammad Bagheri

Bagheri had served as the chief of Iran’s Armed Forces General Staff (AFGS) since June 2016 when he was appointed to the position. Prior to this, he fought in the Iran-Iraq War and had extensive experience with military intelligence and operations.

The US Treasury, which sanctioned Bagheri in 2019 during President Donald Trump’s first term, described the AFGS as the most senior military body in the country, responsible for implementing policy and coordinating activities within the armed forces, including within the IRGC.

Bagheri was in the command control room last October when Iran fired a wave of ballistic missiles at Israel in a show of military strength. the move was retaliation for the killing of Hamas political chief Ismail Hanieyeh during Israeli attacks on Tehran, as well as the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and IRGC commander Abbas Nilforoushan in Lebanon.

Major General Gholam Ali Rashid

A veteran IRGC leader, Rashid was the commander of the Khatam al-Anbia Central Headquarters, the most important strategic military command body in Iran, according to US Treasury documents. He was appointed to the role in June 2016.

He had previously served as the deputy chief of staff of the Iranian Armed Forces and, according to Iranian reports, was a high-level IRGC commander during the Iran-Iraq War.

Major General Amir Ali Hajizadeh

Hajizadeh was the head of the IRGC's Air Defence and was understood to be responsible for Tehran's growing drone capabilities in recent years. 

Born in 1962, he enlisted like many of the Revolutionary Guard’s top commanders in 1980 with the outbreak of the Iran-Iraq War. There he is said to have been posted to several fronts as a sniper during the eight-year conflict.

Though he trained and fought as a sharpshooter, Hajizadeh was also affiliated to the Guard’s artillery division and grew close to General Hassan Tehrani Moghaddam, known as the godfather of Iran’s missile programme.

He was appointed in 2003 to lead the Air Defence. 

Ali Shamkhani

Initial reports suggested that Ali Shamkhani, a close aide to Khamenei and a veteran Iranian security official, had been seriously wounded in the attacks, with reports emerging later on Friday that he had been killed. 

Shamkhani was the lead Iranian diplomat negotiating a new nuclear deal with the Trump administration, and had told NBC News last month that Iran would forgo enriching uranium that could be used in nuclear weapons if the US lifted its economic sanctions.

Observers noted on Friday that Trump had retweeted that interview on Truth Social.

Between 2013 and 2023, Shamkhani was secretary of the Supreme National Council, a critical body which oversees and shapes Iranian security and foreign policy and, in this role, was described as one of the most powerful men in the country.

He was an important force behind Iran’s negotiations with Saudi Arabia, which led to a restoration of ties between the longtime in March 2023, shortly before he was abruptly replaced. 

At the time, Shamkhani was reportedly planning a second bid to run for president, after his unsuccessful first run in 2001, but never ran.

Brigadier General Esmail Qaani

Iranian sources told the New York Times late on Friday that Esmail Qaani was also killed in the attacks.

Qaani, who succeeded Qassem Soleimani as Quds Force commander after his predecessor was killed in a US drone strike in Baghdad in 2020, has been rarely seen publicly in recent months.

In October, Middle East Eye reported that he had faced questions over suspected security breaches and concerns about alleged negligence and mismanagement within his office surrounding Israel's killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and a senior IRGC general in a Beirut air strike.

On Thursday, Qaani reportedly downplayed the sabre-rattling around Iran telling journalists: "No one dare wages a war against us".

Fereydoun Abbasi

Abbasi served as head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, the government agency responsible for all nuclear-related activities, from 2011 to 2013, and also served in the Iranian parliament for four years from 2020 to 2024.

Mohammad-Mehdi Tehranci

Tehranci, a theoretical physicist, served as a president of the Isalmic Azad University and has been described in Iranian reports as a proponent of Iranian scientific sovereignty.