Shadmani served as the Commander of the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters for a few days in June 2025, before he was killed in an Israeli airstrike during the Iran–Israel war which targeted senior members of Iran's military leadership, its nuclear facilities, and its nuclear scientists. Shadmani replaced Major General Gholam Ali Rashid following his death on 13 June 2025, also from an Israeli airstrike.[4]
Personal life
Ali Shadmani was born on September 21, 1962 in Heyran village, Hamedan, Iran.[5] There is no specific information available about his early life. In the sources mentioned he joined the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in 1979, when the Islamic Revolution in Iran had succeeded, coinciding with the establishment of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and began his professional activities in the field of defense and security. His entry into the IRGC marked the beginning of a path in which he quickly advanced, and with the onset of the Iran-Iraq war, he took on significant operational responsibilities. His field activities and leadership on the front lines in the western and southern parts of Iran, positioned him among the experienced and effective commanders of the Iran-Iraq war.[6]
However, just a few days after this appointment and following the same Israeli attacks on Iran, General Ali Shadmani was also assassinated. His assassination was confirmed by official sources, including Fars News Agency. Over more than four decades of service, General Shadmani was known as one of the most reliable figures in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in both operational and strategic roles. His assassination is considered a significant loss to the Iran’s military command structure.[7]
Shadmani was married to Maleehe Faraji, and they had five children. Ali Shadmani had five children. Among them, "Yaser Shadmani" and "Saber Shadmani" are the best known.[6]
Career
Born in Hamadan,[8] Shadmani was a veteran of the Iran-Iraq War.[9] He held several senior positions within the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). He served as the Deputy Coordinator of the Khatam-al Anbiya Central Headquarters, where he oversaw operational planning and joint-force integration. The Khatam al-Anbiya Central HQ is tasked with managing Iran's defense posture and coordinating between the branches of the regular army (the Islamic Republic of Iran Army; Artesh) and the IRGC during national emergencies and wartime scenarios.[4][10]
From 2012 to 2016, he was the Deputy of Operations of the General Staff of the Armed Forces. Following the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in July 2024, Shadmani vowed that Iran would deliver "severe revenge" against Israel. He accused the "Zionist criminal regime" of crossing red lines and predicted a decisive retaliation.[11] He had also been deputy commander of the Emergency Command and head of the Operations Department of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Iran.[12]
In January 2025, he derided what he characterized as deceptive propaganda of Iran's enemies describing Iran's military as feeble, saying: "Our adversaries, particularly the Americans and Zionists, seek to fabricate narratives to mask their own shortcomings; they strive to depict Iran as weak, which is far from reality. Our armed forces are in peak readiness,"[13]
On 13 June 2025, following Israeli airstrikes that killed multiple top Iranian military commanders, including Major General Gholam Ali Rashid, who had led the headquarters since 2016, supreme leader Ali Khamenei appointed Shadmani as the new commander of the Khatam-al Anbiya Central Headquarters. This transition occurred amid an escalating military conflict between Iran and Israel.[14] Shadmani stated that Iran's armed forces would continue their operations on a significantly broader and more destructive scale, until what he described as the "criminal and aggressor Zionist enemy" fully repents and regrets its actions.[15][16]
Military background
Since the beginning of his military career, Shadmani has held the following positions:[17][18][19][20][21]
Commander of the 32nd Corps of Ansar al-Hussein (PBUH) during the Iran-Iraq war (1980)
Deputy of Operations for the Ground Forces of the IRGC (from 1988 to 1996)
Commander of the 3rd Special Forces Division of Hamzeh Seyyed ol-Shohada (from 1996 to 2001)
Commander of the Najaf Ashraf Headquarters (from 2001 to 2003)
In October 2024, Shadmani was sanctioned by the European Union, while he was serving as Deputy Coordinator of Iran's IRGC Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters (KCHQ), following Iran's transfer of missiles and drones to Russia. Shadmani faced asset freezes, a travel ban, and a prohibition on the provision of any financial or economic resources from European Union entities.[22][23]
On 17 June 2025, the Israel Defense Forces reported that Shadmani had been killed in an Israeli airstrike targeting a mountain command facility in central Tehran. The strike occurred just four days after Shadmani had been appointed to replace Gholam Ali Rashid, who himself had also been killed in an Israeli airstrike, on 13 June 2025.[24][25][26][27] His funeral held on 28 June was set to take place along with those of all the top commanders killed during the Iran–Israel war.[28]
The manner of his death
The daughter of Ali Shadmani, commander of the Central Headquarters of Khatam ol-Anbiya, stated, “My father is the only senior martyr commander of this war who has not been widely recognized.”[29][30]
She added, “He was martyred during a direct pursuit and confrontation with the Zionist regime. Many people believe that my father was killed in a random airstrike, but that is not true.”[31][32]
The daughter of Ali Shadmani further emphasized, “He was martyred as a result of a targeted assassination by the Zionist regime. Since the command of the Khatam-al Anbiya Headquarters also includes leadership of the war staff, after the Zionist regime martyred him, Hebrew media reported that we had targeted the commander of the war and the closest military figure to the Supreme Leader of Iran.”[33][34][35]
However, some media outlets have reported that the cause of Shadmani's death was an aerial bombardment and the severity of his injuries contributed to it.[6][5][36]
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