Iran's Revolutionary Guards confirm head Ali Shadmani's killing in strikes, vow 'harsh' revenge

The Israeli military had last week claimed to have killed Ali Shadmani in an overnight strike on a "command centre in the heart of Tehran".

The head of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards' command centre, Ali Shadmani, has died of wounds sustained last week during the Israeli strikes. As per Iranian media, the IRGC has vowed "harsh revenge" for the killing of the Major General.

Israel had said that Ali Shadmani was the closest figure to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. (AFP)

The development gains significance against the backdrop of the newly imposed US-proposed ceasefire, which brought an end to the 12-day long Israel-Iran war. US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that the truce was in effect, adding that Israel will not attack Iran any further and neither will Tehran rebuild its nuclear programme.

The Israeli military had last week claimed to have killed Ali Shadmani in an overnight strike on a "command centre in the heart of Tehran". Israel had identified Shadmani as Iran's wartime chief of staff and most senior military commander.

The Israeli armed forces' claim had come on June 17, just four days after Shadmani's predecessor, Gholam Ali Rashid, was killed in the initial surprise attack launched by Israel.

Ali Shadmani replaced Rashid as the new commander of the Guards' Khatam al-Anbia Central Headquarters, reported Tasnim news agency.

According to the Israel defense forces (IDF), Shadmani was the closest figure to Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

IDF said that Shadmani had also served as the Commander of the Emergency Command of the Iranian Armed Forces and had both the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Iranian army under his command.

“At the start of the operation, he was appointed to command the Iranian Armed Forces after his predecessor, Alaa Ali Rashid, was eliminated in the opening strike of Operation "Rising Lion”,” the IDF had said last week in a statement.

The Khatam al-Anbiya command centre, under Shadmani's leadership, was reportedly responsible for managing combat operations and approving Iran's firepower plans.

After promoting Shadmani to the rank of major general and appointing him as the new commander of the Revolutionary Guard's command centre, Khamenei had called on him to work on strategic and operational planning, and guidance to counter the threats and accurately detect the combat preparedness of the Iranian forces, Tasnim had reported.