Who was Hossein Salami, the chief of Iran's Revolutionary Guards killed in Israeli strike

Chief of Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guards, Maj Gen Hossein Salami, was killed in Israeli strikes on Friday, AFP reported citing local media reports.

Headquarters of Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard were attacked as Israel targeted several sites across Tehran including nuclear and military sites.

On the target were officials leading Iran's nuclear programme and its ballistic-missile arsenal. The strike also killed two nuclear scientists Fereydoun Abbasi-Davani and Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi, the state media reported.

Who is Hossein Salami

Salami, the commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was born in 1960 in Golpayegan. He joined the IRGC while pursuing college during the Iran–Iraq War.

He raised through the ranks and became the deputy commander before replacing Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari on April 21, 2019. He was appointed the new Commander-in-Chief by the supreme leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard was created after the 1979 Islamic Revolution and is one of the main power centers within the country. It also controls Iran’s arsenal of ballistic missiles, which it has used to attack Israel twice during the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.

The Guard is a major power center within Iran’s theocracy, with vast business interests and oversees the nation’s ballistic missile arsenal.

Israel attacks Iran

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel struck Iran’s nuclear facility at Natanz and targeted scientists. He added that the operation against Iran would "continue as many days as it takes."

Iranian media also reported that explosions were heard in Tehran as tensions mounted over US' scheduled talks this weekend to win Iran's agreement to halt production of material for an atomic bomb.

A state of emergency has been declared by Israel, anticipating a retaliatory missile and drone strike by Tehran.

Meanwhile, Iran's air defence systems have been placed on full alert.

An official told Reuters that Iran possesses enough material to produce 15 nuclear bombs within days.

"Following the preemptive strike by the State of Israel against Iran, a missile and UAV (drone) attack against the State of Israel and its civilian population is expected in the immediate timeframe," Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a statement.