Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, acted promptly and appointed new leaders for the Revolutionary Guards and armed forces following the deaths of their commanders in Israeli strikes on Friday.Through distinct official orders, Khamenei selected Mohammad Pakpour as the new commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, succeeding Hossein Salami, while Abdolrahim Mousavi was appointed to take over from Mohammad Bagheri as the chief of the armed forces general staff.“In view of the martyrdom of Lieutenant General Hossein Salami at the hands of the vile Zionist regime, and in light of Major General Mohammad Pakpour’s meritorious services and valuable experience, I appoint him as Commander-in-Chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps,” Khamenni said in a post on X. Earlier during the “Operation Rising Lion” today, multiple senior Iranian military commanders and nuclear experts were killed.The Israeli forces executed strikes targeting Iran’s nuclear sites and military bases throughout the nation. Iranian news outlets and local witnesses reported numerous blasts at Iran’s main uranium processing complex in Natanz. Israel subsequently announced an emergency status and activated its armed forces, preparing for possible Iranian counter-strikes.Among Iran’s top military leadership , that lost their lives in strikes, was General Hossein Salami, who served as the commander-in-chief of the Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) since his appointment by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in 2019, perished when the IRGC headquarters in Tehran was hit.The attack also resulted in the death of Major General Mohammad Bagheri, the highest-ranking military official in Iran and chief of staff of the armed forces, who was positioned directly below the Supreme Leader in military authority. General Gholam Ali Rashid, the leader of Khatam al-Anbiya state headquarters, was also among those who lost their lives.Additionally, Ali Shamkhani, who served as an adviser to the supreme leader and previously commanded the IRGC, sustained critical injuries during the attack, as reported by Iranian local news sources.The strike also impacted Iran’s nuclear programme, resulting in the deaths of six distinguished nuclear scientists: Abdolhamid Minouchehr, Ahmadreza Zolfaghari, Amirhossein Feqhi, Motalleblizadeh, Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi, and Fereydoun Abbasi.