Mohammad Bagheri

Major General Mohammad Bagheri served as Chief of Staff of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Iran from August 2016 until his death on 13 June 2025, making him the most senior uniformed officer in the Islamic Republic of Iran. An IRGC veteran of the Iran–Iraq War, Bagheri rose through the IRGC intelligence and operations apparatus before being appointed to the joint command. As Chief of Staff he coordinated both the Artesh and IRGC, represented Iran's armed forces in international military diplomacy, and regularly appeared alongside Ali Khamenei at military ceremonies. He was killed on 13 June 2025 in Israeli airstrikes on Tehran — the same strike that killed Gholam Ali Rashid — during the opening phase of what became known as the Twelve-Day War.