Mohammad Kazemi (; 11 July 1961 – 15 June 2025) was an Iranian

intelligence officer An intelligence officer is a member of the intelligence field employed by an organization to collect, compile or analyze information (known as intelligence) which is of use to that organization. The word of ''officer'' is a working title, not a r ...

and brigadier general 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). He served as the commander of the IRGC's

Intelligence Organization An intelligence agency is a government agency responsible for the collection, analysis, and exploitation of information in support of law enforcement, national security, military, public safety, and foreign policy objectives. Means of info ...

from 2022 until his death in 2025, when he was killed by an Israeli airstrike during the

Iran–Israel war The Iran–Israel War is an ongoing armed conflict between Iran and Israel. Active hostilities broke out amid poor relations between Iran and Israel, 2025 United States–Iran negotiations , negotiations between Iran and the United States ov ...

Early life

Kazemi was born on 11 July 1961 in Semnan, Iran, a city located east of the capital city,

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

Career

Kazemi first became a member of the

Islamic Revolution Committees Islamic Revolution Committees or Committees of Islamic Revolution (), simply known as the Committee (; commonly referred to as ''Komiteh'', pronounced koh-mee-TAY), was a revolutionary organization turned law enforcement agency in Iran. Founded in ...

formed by

Ruhollah Khomeini Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini (17 May 1900 or 24 September 19023 June 1989) was an Iranian revolutionary, politician, political theorist, and religious leader. He was the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the main leader of the Iranian ...

to suppress opposition to the regime beginning in the 1980s. He also served as an Iranian intelligence official. Kazemi served as the head of the

's (IRGC) Intelligence Protection Organization, a counter-intelligence agency, from at least 2013. He was appointed chief of intelligence in June 2022, replacing

Hossein Taeb Hossein Taeb () is an Iranian Shia cleric and former senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps official who was head of the IRGC's Intelligence Organization. Biography According to a biography from the "pro-government" Iran Student Correspondent ...

. His rank was brigadier general. According to the Spreading Justice database, as head of intelligence Kazemi was "directly responsible for

human rights violation Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

s against all Iranian citizens from various ethnicities, religions, orientations, professions, and political views".

Sanctions

In October 2022, Kazemi was designated by the United States Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), under Executive Order 14078. In addition, he was sanctioned under Executive Order 13224 for his role in suppressing civil society in Iran and arresting dissidents, including dual nationals. Kazemi oversaw "the regime's brutal crackdown against protests" across Iran following the killing of

Mahsa Amini On 16 September 2022, 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman Mahsa Amini, also known as Jina Amini, died in a hospital in Tehran, Iran, under suspicious circumstances. The Guidance Patrol, the religious morality police of Iran's government, had a ...

. Kazemi was 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 October 2024, along with other Iranian government figures.

Death

Kazemi and his deputy, Hassan Mohaqeq, were killed on 15 June 2025 during the Israeli strikes on Iran. His death was announced by Israeli 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 ...

, and later confirmed by Iran's

Tasnim News Agency Tasnim News Agency () is a semi-official news agency in Iran associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Launched in 2012, its purpose is to cover a variety of political, social, economic and international subjects along with ma ...

. It had previously been reported in Iranian media that Kazemi and Mohaqeq were trapped under rubble after an airstrike on an IRGC

building in

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kazemi, Mohammad 1961 births 2025 deaths Assassinated Iranian military personnel Deaths by Israeli airstrikes during the Iran–Israel War Directors of intelligence agencies Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps brigadier generals People of Iranian intelligence agencies