IDF kills IRGC Quds Force Lebanon Corps commander Daoud Ali Zadeh in Tehran strike

The Israeli Air Force, acting on IDF intelligence, eliminated Daoud Ali Zadeh — the temporary commander of Iran's Quds Force Lebanon Corps — in a precision strike on Tehran on Tuesday. The Quds Force is the overseas operations division of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and the Lebanon Corps specifically serves as the operational link between Iran and Hezbollah. Ali Zadeh had assumed the Lebanon Corps command after his predecessor, Hassan Mahdavi, was killed in an earlier Israeli strike. The IDF stated that Zadeh had 'directed Hezbollah to strike Israel to protect the Iranian regime.' Separately, the Times of Israel reported that Reza Khazaei — described as Ali Zadeh's right-hand man and a key figure in building Hezbollah's missile capabilities — was also killed. The elimination of two consecutive Lebanon Corps commanders represents a systematic decapitation of the IRGC-Hezbollah command structure. Iran had not commented on the IDF claim as of publication time. The Lebanon Corps is regarded as one of Iran's most strategic assets, responsible for decades of weapons transfers and operational coordination that built Hezbollah into a major military force.