On the morning of Saturday, June 21, Israeli Air Force targeted an apartment in a building in the Salarieh neighborhood of Qom. Reports indicate that the strike left at least two people dead.
A few hours later, Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant claimed that the target of the attack was Mohammad Saeed Izadi, commander of the Quds Force’s Palestine branch, who was known by the alias “Haj Ramadan.” On September 10, 2019, the U.S. Treasury Department designated him as “one of the leaders of terrorist groups.”
Iran’s regime has not yet confirmed or denied the news, but if Tehran confirms Izadi’s death, he would be the first IRGC commander killed in the ongoing conflict. Israel claims he was targeted due to his direct role in arming Hamas for its attack against Israel.
Yoav Gallant described Mohammad Saeed Izadi as the commander who “trained and armed the extremist group Hamas for the October 7, 2023, massacre,” and added that he was killed in the attack on “an apartment in the heart of Qom.”
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the Israeli army quoted its Chief of Staff calling Saeed Izadi’s death “one of the key turning points in the current war.”
But what is known about Mohammad Saeed Izadi, one of the senior commanders of the IRGC Quds Force?
Survivor of Three Israeli Strikes
Following the October 7 Hamas attack, Israel launched targeted strikes in Lebanon and Syria, some of which aimed at commanders of the IRGC and the Quds Force.
Israel’s Channel 14 reported that after the Hamas attack, several IRGC commanders were placed on Israeli intelligence services’ “kill list,” with Mohammad Saeed Izadi among them.
Mohammad Saeed Izadi was targeted by Israeli airstrikes in Syria at least three times—operations that all failed. At one point, reports of his death surfaced but were later denied.
He survived Israeli strikes on January 29, 2024 in the Sayyidah Zaynab area near Damascus; February 21, 2024 in the Kafr Sousa district of Damascus; and March 1, 2024 in the Babilla area, also near Damascus.
The Longest-Serving Iranian General in Lebanon
Holding the rank of major general, Mohammad Saeed Izadi was regarded as “the longest-serving Iranian general in Lebanon.” He was also described as the liaison between Iranian regime leader Ali Khamenei and the now-killed Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah.
A graduate in electronic engineering from Khajeh Nasir al-Din Tusi University of Technology, Izadi was also responsible for supplying weapons to Hezbollah.
He began his military career in 1979 by joining the IRGC and served as a mid-level commander during the Iran-Iraq War.
From 1982 to 1983, he commanded the IRGC in Kurdistan province; from then until 1985, he led the Hamzeh Seyyed al-Shohada Headquarters; and up to 1987, he was the commander of the Najaf Ashraf Headquarters. He was then transferred to the IRGC General Staff and served as deputy commander until 1989.
After the end of the war, he served as commander of the IRGC Ground Forces until 1993, and from then until 2006, he held the position of deputy for planning, programs, and budgeting at the Armed Forces General Staff before transferring to the Quds Force.
