The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Iran's official IRNA news agency has confirmed that the commander of the IRGC's air force has been killed.
Brig-Gen Amir Ali Hajizadeh was appointed commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force by Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in October 2009.
Born in Tehran in 1962, Hajizadeh joined the IRGC in 1980, shortly after the start of the 1980–1988 Iran–Iraq War, and served as a sniper in various operations.
Following the war, he joined the IRGC Air Force and began working in the IRGC's missile development programme.
Later, in 2006, he was appointed commander of the IRGC Air Defence.
Hajizadeh was sanctioned by the US Treasury along with other IRGC commanders after Iran shot down a US surveillance drone near the Strait of Hormuz in June 2019.
After the downing of the Ukrainian airliner near Tehran in January 2020 by an IRGC missile, which killed all 176 people on board, Hajizadeh described the incident as an accident, took full responsibility, and stated that he would accept any punishment determined by the Iranian authorities.
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