Ali Shadmani, the wartime chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces and a trusted aide to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in an airstrike in Tehran, according to a statement released by the Israel defense forces on Tuesday.“For the second time in 5 days— the IDF has eliminated Iran’s war-time chief of staff, the regime’s top military commander,” the IDF said in a X post.

Shadmani’s assassination marks the second instance of a top Iranian commander being eliminated by Israel during its ongoing military offensive.A senior general, he was appointed to his position following the death of his predecessor, Major General Gholam Ali Rashid, who was killed in Israel’s initial strikes on Friday. Major General Shadmani had served as the head of the Khatam-al Anbiya central headquarters, Iran’s military emergency command, for only about four days. In this role, he was tasked with overseeing coordination between the Iranian army and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.Under Shadmani’s command, the Khatam-al Anbiya central headquarters “was responsible for managing combat operations and approving Iran’s attack plans.” the IDF told the news agency The Times of Israel. It added “in his various roles, he had a direct influence on Iran’s offensive plans targeting the State of Israel,” the IDF says.Shadmani had earlier held the positions of deputy commander at the Khatam-al Anbiya Headquarters and chief of operations within Iran’s armed forces.The strike is the latest in a series of attacks targeting senior commanders and scientists, further weakening Iran’s leadership structure.