Iran’s General Ranks Bleed Further: Two Deputy Chiefs of Staff Killed in Israeli Strike

Iran’s state television announced on Saturday the deaths of two deputy chiefs of staff of the Iranian army following an Israeli strike on Tehran.

According to the official broadcast, the attack resulted in the killing of Brigadier General Mehdi Rabani, head of operations at Iran’s General Staff of the Armed Forces, and Brigadier General Gholam Reza Mehrabi, who oversaw intelligence affairs within the same body.

The deaths of these senior officials deepen the leadership crisis facing Iran’s military establishment, which has been experiencing increasing losses at the top of its command structure.

Since Friday, Israeli strikes on Iran have killed at least 78 people, including numerous senior military officials, marking the largest Israeli military operation ever conducted against Iran.

At dawn on Friday, Israel launched a wide-scale offensive targeting over 200 military and nuclear sites across Iran. The operation led to the deaths of senior military commanders and Iranian nuclear scientists. Israel claims to have intelligence indicating that Iran’s nuclear program is nearing a “point of no return.”

The strike comes amid mounting international pressure on Tehran, which Western powers and Israel accuse of seeking to develop nuclear weapons—a claim Iran denies, insisting that its nuclear program is purely civilian.

In retaliation, Iran fired several waves of drones and missiles. A senior Iranian military source said that the counterstrikes “will continue.”

The attack takes place just two days ahead of a new round of indirect talks between the United States and Iran scheduled for Sunday in Oman, focused on Iran’s nuclear program.

When asked whether Iran would still participate, Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei stated: “The other side has taken an action that renders negotiations and dialogue virtually meaningless. You cannot claim to seek dialogue and understanding while simultaneously enabling a racist regime to violate our national sovereignty.”