Iran Confirms Top Air Defense Commander Killed in US-Israeli Strike

By Ifeyinwa Ike

Iranian state media has confirmed Brigadier General Masoud Zare, commander of the Iranian Army’s Air Defense College, died in a joint US-Israeli airstrike on Iranian soil.

Mehr News Agency, a state-run outlet, reported the senior officer’s death. Iranian military circles widely credit Zare with orchestrating the downing of a US F-15 fighter jet earlier this week.

The strike signals a major escalation in the conflict, delivering a direct hit to Iran’s air defense leadership.

Zare, based at the Air Defence College in Shahin Shahr, perished amid a US-Israeli bombing campaign that ramped up over the past 24 hours. It follows days after Tehran hailed the F-15 shootdown as a propaganda triumph.

The US has offered no official comment, but the precise targeting of this high-value figure underscores the coalition’s air dominance and reach into Iranian territory.