Israel announced on Monday (April 6th) that Majid Khademi, the intelligence chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), was killed in a precision strike; at the same time, Asghar Bagheri, a senior commander of the Quds Force, was also eliminated.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed Khademi’s death in a statement on social platform X, accusing him of facilitating overseas terrorist attacks and being responsible for monitoring Iranian civilians as part of the regime’s crackdown on domestic protests.
According to an Israeli senior official speaking to Fox News, “Khademi was actually the second in command of the IRGC and one of the few senior commanders who survived multiple targeted strikes by Israel and the United States over the past year. He constantly moved around, changed locations, but ultimately was hunted down and eliminated.”
The official mentioned that Khademi’s intelligence agency failed multiple times to detect or thwart significant actions by Israel and the U.S., including a series of strategic strikes that exposed deep vulnerabilities in Iran’s security system. Additionally, Khademi was “deeply involved in attempts to penetrate the U.S. system, including trying to infiltrate the Pentagon,” and also had “extensive coordination with Russia.”
Rising through the ranks in Iran’s security apparatus, Khademi had served in intelligence and counterespionage roles for decades, leading the Revolutionary Guard’s intelligence protection organization and holding senior positions in the Iranian Defense Ministry. The official added that “his elimination comes as a major blow to the Iranian intelligence leadership as the regime faces continued pressure.”
Regarding Bagheri, who also perished in the same attack, the official told Fox News that “Bagheri was directly involved in recruiting operatives throughout the Middle East and planning attacks on American targets inside Iraq and Syria — including actions that led to casualties among U.S. military personnel.”
The Israeli Defense Forces stated that since 2019, Bagheri had been leading the Quds Force Special Operations Unit, involved in attacks on individuals globally linked to Israel and the U.S. Under his leadership, the unit also advanced operations against Israeli soldiers along the Syrian border.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ intelligence department is one of Iran’s most powerful security agencies, playing a core role in monitoring domestically to resist foreign influence and often operating parallel to the civilian intelligence apparatus. The Guard confirmed in a statement that Intelligence chief Majid Khademi was assassinated earlier on Monday, describing him as having contributed “nearly half a century of loyal and brave service” to the revolution.
Since the conflict began at the end of February, Israel has struck dozens of senior officials from the IRGC, the Iranian military, and the Basij paramilitary organization.
Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz stated on Monday, “The Iranian leadership is living in fear of being hunted down. We will continue to hunt them down one by one.”
He added that Israel’s strikes have heavily damaged Iran’s steel infrastructure and petrochemical industry, saying, “Today, and every day in the future, there will be more actions.”