In a stunning escalation of its shadow war with Iran, Israel has assassinated Saeed Izadi, the newly appointed commander of the Palestinian Division in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force—barely 24 hours after he assumed the role.
Izadi was killed in a precision overnight airstrike on a residential apartment in the city of Qom, deep inside Iranian territory. The strike, widely attributed to Israeli forces, marks yet another audacious hit in Israel’s relentless campaign to dismantle the IRGC’s top command.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed the operation, calling it a decisive act of justice. “Izadi was a key architect in arming and funding Hamas ahead of the October 7 massacre. This is justice for the murdered and the hostages. Israel’s long arm will reach all its enemies,” Katz declared.
The killing of Izadi comes just days after the assassination of his predecessor, Maj. Gen. Mohammad Kazemi, also by Israeli forces. Kazemi had himself replaced another intelligence chief recently eliminated in a similar fashion, underscoring a rapid succession of Iranian intelligence heads wiped out in quick succession.
In a desperate move to restore stability within its intelligence wing, Iran had appointed Majid Khademi as the new head of IRGC intelligence shortly before Izadi’s death was confirmed. Khademi now becomes the third appointee in an extraordinarily short span, as the IRGC reels from successive high-level losses.
The repeated decapitation strikes highlight Israel’s growing intelligence dominance and its willingness to strike deep inside Iranian borders to neutralize what it sees as imminent threats to its national security.
With tensions soaring across the region, analysts say the latest strike sends a chilling message: Israel is intensifying its campaign to dismantle Iran’s strategic apparatus—one commander at a time.