U.S.-Israeli Strikes Kill IRGC Intelligence Chief
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- Majid Khademi, head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' intelligence organisation, was killed on April 6, 2026, in an attack Iran attributed to 'the American-Zionist (Israeli) enemy'
- Khademi became the latest key IRGC figure killed in U.S.-Israeli air strikes and took over the role in 2025 after Israeli air strikes killed his predecessor
- Khademi spent decades in intelligence and counter-espionage roles, previously heading the Guards' Intelligence Protection Organisation, which handles internal surveillance and counter-intelligence
- Khademi held senior roles in Iran's defence ministry before his appointment to lead IRGC intelligence
- The IRGC intelligence arm is one of Iran's most powerful security bodies, central to domestic surveillance to counter foreign influence, and often operates in parallel with Iran's civilian intelligence ministry
Why it matters: The killing eliminates the second consecutive IRGC intelligence chief lost to Israeli strikes within roughly a year, disrupting continuity in one of Iran's most powerful security bodies just as its domestic surveillance apparatus faces repeated decapitation. For Iran, the pattern signals a deepening ability of U.S.-Israeli operations to penetrate its elite security leadership, raising the operational cost of counter-intelligence work and accelerating a leadership crisis in a body that operates parallel to the civilian intelligence ministry.
