Mohammad Reza Zahedi

Mohammad Reza Zahedi was born in Isfahan, Iran. He joined the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) following the 1979 Islamic Revolution, serving as a frontline division commander during the Iran–Iraq War (1980–1988), leading the 14th Imam Hussein Division in major offensives.

Zahedi rose to the highest ranks of the Iranian military apparatus, commanding the IRGC Ground Forces and the IRGC Air Force. As head of the Quds Force's operations in Lebanon and Syria, Zahedi was the primary liaison and strategic coordinator between Tehran, Bashar al-Assad's government, and Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, managing weapons transfers and operational coordination across the "Axis of Resistance." On April 1, 2024, an Israeli airstrike demolished the Iranian consular annex adjacent to the Iranian Embassy in Damascus, killing Zahedi, his deputy Mohammad Hadi Haji Rahimi, and five other officers. The assassination marked the highest-ranking Iranian military loss since Qasem Soleimani and provoked Iran's unprecedented direct barrage of over 300 drones and missiles at Israel on April 13, 2024.