Israel’s military launched a series of airstrikes that resulted in the death of Major General Mohammad Bagheri, who was the chief of staff for Iran’s armed forces. The news was confirmed by Iran’s state television channel IRINN.

Bagheri was the most senior officer in Iran’s military structure, making his death a major loss for the country’s leadership and defense system.

He is now the second top Iranian military figure reported to have died in Israel’s large-scale attack, which took place early Friday morning.

Before this, several Iranian media sources had already reported that General Hossein Salami, the commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was killed in the same round of airstrikes.

The Daily Post reported that Israel carried out many strikes across Iran and declared a state of emergency, expecting Iran to strike back in response.

Israel’s military said it launched a detailed and targeted operation, which they called Operation Rising Lion. According to them, the action was pre-emptive and based on strong intelligence.