06-07-2025
IDF cyber chief, retired Iran strategy head piloted fighter jets striking Iran
Maj.-Gen. Aviad Dagan and Maj.-Gen. (res) Tal Kelman participated in an unspecified number of airstrike runs during Operation Rising Lion.
Two IDF major-generals returned to flight duty and participated in airstrikes against Iran during Operation Rising Lion in June, Walla confirmed on Sunday.
Maj.-Gen. Aviad Dagan and Maj.-Gen. (res) Tal Kelman participated in an unspecified number of airstrike runs during Operation Rising Lion.
Dagan currently serves as head of the IDF's C4I and Cyber Defense Directorate. He previously served as commander of the Israel Air Force's Hatzerim Airbase.
Kelman, who is no longer in IDF active duty, previously served as IAF Chief of Staff and head of the IDF's Strategy and Iran Directorate.
Both Dagan and Kelman are fighter pilots by training.
The IAF targeted aerial defense sites ranging from launching facilities to production sites to radar arrays. This led to Israel achieving air superiority over western Iran within a matter of hours.
The IAF killed Maj.-Gen. Mohammad Bagheri, head of the Armed Forces General Staff; and Maj.-Gen. Hossein Salami, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), in the surprise attack on June 13.
Among the others eliminated were Maj.-Gen. Gholam Ali Rashid, commander of the Khatam al-Anbia Central Headquarters; and Maj.-Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, head of the IRGC's Air Defense.
The IAF killed four senior Iranian intelligence officials, including the head of the IRCG's intelligence organization, on June 15.
The IDF weakened the Islamic Republic of Iran's weapons production capabilities after completing a wave of strikes on infrastructure belonging to the IRGC's Quds Force and their military in Tehran, the military announced on June 15.
Seth J. Frantzman, Jerusalem Post Staff, and Reuters contributed to this report.
