Major General Mohammad Bagheri (, 1960 – 13 June 2025; born Mohammad-Hossein Afshordi ) was an Iranian military officer in the

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), also known as the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, is a multi-service primary branch of the Islamic Republic of Iran Armed Forces, Iranian Armed Forces. It was officially established by Ruhollah Khom ...

(IRGC), who served as the

Chief of Staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...

of the

Iranian Armed Forces The Iranian Armed Forces, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran Armed Forces, are the combined military forces of Iran, comprising the Islamic Republic of Iran Army (''Artesh''), the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (''Sepah'') and the Polic ...

from 2016 to 2025. He was killed along with other senior officers during a series of airstrikes launched by Israel on 13 June 2025. He was the highest ranking military officer in Iran at the time of his death.

Career

Bagheri, a

military intelligence Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis List of intelligence gathering disciplines, approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist Commanding officer, commanders in decision making pr ...

expert with experience dating back to the

Iran–Iraq War The Iran–Iraq War, also known as the First Gulf War, was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. Active hostilities began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for nearly eight years, unti ...

, held a Ph.D. in

political geography Political geography is concerned with the study of both the spatially uneven outcomes of political processes and the ways in which political processes are themselves affected by spatial structures. Conventionally, for the purposes of analysis, ...

and reportedly taught at Iran's Supreme National Defense University. In 1980, he joined the IRGC. Mohammad Bagheri was a member of a group identified by the

American Enterprise Institute The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, known simply as the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), is a center-right think tank based in Washington, D.C., that researches government, politics, economics, and social welfare ...

(AEI) as the IRGC Command Network, which includes other commanders such as Mohammad Ali Jafari,

Ali Fadavi Ali Fadavi () is an Iranian military officer who in 2018 was appointed the deputy commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Early life and education He was born in 1961. Fadavi studied at Isfahan University of Technology, w ...

, and

Gholam Ali Rashid Major general Gholam Ali Rashid (; 1953 – 13 June 2025) was an Iranian military officer who served as the commander of Khatam-al Anbiya Central Headquarters. He was killed during the Israeli strikes on Iran on 13 June 2025. Early life Rash ...

. According to AEI's Critical Threats Project, the group "dominates the upper echelons of Iran's military and controls planning, operations, intelligence, covert and irregular warfare operations, and internal security." He was promoted from his previous position as deputy chief of staff for intelligence and operations in the

General Staff A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, Enlisted rank, enlisted, and civilian staff who serve the commanding officer, commander of a ...

on 28 June 2016, replacing

Hassan Firouzabadi Sayyid Hassan Aghaee Firouzabadi (; 3 February 1951 – 3 September 2021) was an Iranian military officer. He served as the Chief-of-Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces—the most senior military authority in Iran—from 1989 to 2016. After that, ...

. In October 2017, he visited Iranian troops in Aleppo province in northern

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

. In February 2022, according to

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...

, Bagheri announced that Iran will continue advancing its ballistic missile programme, both "in terms of quantity and quality". On 21 October 2022, a White House press release stated that Iranian troops were in Crimea assisting

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

in launching drone attacks. Bagheri was the commander overseeing the Iranian army branches supplying Russia with drones. On 3 December 2023, Bagheri suggested during meetings in Baghdad that Iran might directly intervene in the escalating tensions with the United States, in support of efforts to expel American forces from the region. On 17 April 2025, Bagheri held talks in Tehran with Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Defense, Khalid bin Salman Al Saud, in the highest profile talks between the two countries in decades.

Personal life

Bagheri was born in 1960. His elder brother, Hassan Bagheri, was a commander in the

Sanctions

On 8 April 2019, the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

designated Iran's Revolutionary Guards as a foreign terrorist organization. Prime Minister

Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin Netanyahu (born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who has served as the prime minister of Israel since 2022, having previously held the office from 1996 to 1999 and from 2009 to 2021. Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime min ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

immediately thanked President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

. Mohammad Bagheri said, "We consider the U.S. troops in

West Asia West Asia (also called Western Asia or Southwest Asia) is the westernmost region of Asia. As defined by most academics, UN bodies and other institutions, the subregion consists of Anatolia, the Arabian Peninsula, Iran, Mesopotamia, the Armenian ...

to be terrorists and if they do a damn thing, we will confront them vigorously." In 2022, following harsh suppression of protesters during the

Mahsa Amini protests Civil unrest and protests against the Government of Iran, government of the Islamic Republic of Iran associated with the Death in custody, death in police custody of Death of Mahsa Amini#Victim, Mahsa Amini () began on 16 September 2022 and ca ...

, Bagheri was sanctioned by the

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. He was also sanctioned by the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

in 2022 in relation to the

Russo-Ukrainian War The Russo-Ukrainian War began in February 2014 and is ongoing. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia Russian occupation of Crimea, occupied and Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, annexed Crimea from Ukraine. It then ...

. On October 2022, the EU sanctioned Bagheri for his involvement in providing drones to Russia, used in attacks against Ukraine. These sanctions included asset freezes and travel bans. Bagheri publicly mocked the EU sanction, "I have a humanitarian proposal for the European Union. I give them the permission to confiscate all the properties and assets of Maj. Gen. Mohammad Bagheri from all bank accounts in the world and use them to buy coal for European citizens. A difficult winter is ahead" Bagheri said. The EU Council Decision stated that Bagheri has played a key role in strengthening defence cooperation with Russia. This includes helping develop the Mohajer-6 drones and facilitating their delivery for use by Russian forces in the war against Ukraine. The report says "He also participated in the development of Mohajer-6 drones and their supply to the Russian Federation for their use in the war of aggression against Ukraine. Therefore, Major-General Mohammad Hossein Bagheri is responsible for supporting actions which undermine or threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine."

Death

Bagheri was killed by the

June 2025 Israeli strikes on Iran June is the sixth and current month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars—the latter the most widely used calendar in the world. Its length is 30 days. June succeeds May and precedes July. This month marks the start of summe ...

, reported both Iranian state media and the Israeli military; he was succeeded by

Abdolrahim Mousavi ''Seyyed'' Abdolrahim Mousavi (}; born 1960) is an Iranian military officer. As of June 2025, he is the Chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran, following the killing of his predecessor. He formerly served as t ...

References

External links