Hossein Salami, the commander of Iran‘s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), was killed in Israel’s strikes early on Friday, the most senior Iranian leader to die in the attacks. Salami, who was 65, was known for taking a hardline stance against Iran’s rivals, including Israel and the US. Just last month, he had warned that Tehran would “open the gates of hell” if attacked by either country.
Israel launched widescale strikes against Iran, saying it targeted nuclear facilities, ballistic missile factories, and military commanders, despite US President Donald Trump warning its ally against scuppering talks on a potential nuclear deal. Tehran has warned that Israel and the US – which denies being involved – will pay a “heavy price” for the attacks, raising concerns that this will lead an already fragile region into full-scale war.
Salami was a powerful figure in Iran’s military, and his death is likely to escalate tensions between Iran and Israel. He had boasted of Iran’s military capabilities, at one point declaring that the country was “on the verge of becoming a world power”. Salami had also welcomed the prospect of military conflict with Israel and the US, vowing to “wipe the Zionist regime” off the political map after an Israeli strike against Iranian targets in Syria in 2019.
The Iranian regime has used opposing Israel as a key part of its ideology, and Salami’s rhetoric reflected this. Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has called Israel a “cancerous tumour” that “will undoubtedly be uprooted and destroyed”. Israel says Tehran’s rhetoric makes Iran an existential threat.
The Revolutionary Guards, which Salami led, is a powerful branch of the Iranian armed forces, with more than 190,000 active personnel and its own ground, navy, and air forces. The group reports directly to the supreme leader and is thought to control around a third of Iran’s economy through a series of subsidiaries and trusts. Its power is not easily checked by other institutions, and it plays a significant role in Iran’s military and political landscape.
Salami’s death is likely to have significant implications for the region, and the response from Iran and its allies will be closely watched.