Mehdi Vafaei, the chief engineer of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force, has been killed in an Israeli airstrike.
The Operative Information Center-OMM reports, citing the Times of Israel, that Vafaei was neutralized during an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) operation targeting the city of Mahallat in central Iran.
According to the Israel Defense Forces, Vafaei served as the head of the IRGC's Engineering Department for 20 years. During his tenure, he was responsible for the construction of sophisticated underground bunkers and storage facilities for advanced weaponry used by Hezbollah and the Syrian government across Lebanon and Syria. His death follows reports from last week regarding the killing of Rear Admiral Alireza Tangsiri, commander of the IRGC Navy, in an airstrike in the Bandar Abbas region of southern Iran.
The targeting of high-ranking IRGC officials underscores the escalating regional tensions and the ongoing shadow war between Israel and Iranian-backed entities. The Quds Force, which Vafaei served, is the elite wing of the IRGC responsible for extraterritorial operations and supporting proxy groups throughout the Middle East. These developments come amid a period of heightened geopolitical instability, as international actors monitor the potential for further military escalation in the region.
