FACT CHECK: No, IRGC Aerospace Commander Was Not Killed In Airstrike In Syria

Elias Atienza | Senior Reporter

A post shared on X claims that Amir Ali Hajizadeh, Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) aerospace commander, was killed in an airstrike in Syria.

Verdict: False

There is no evidence for this claim. An image shows Hajizadeh at Ismail Haniyeh’s funeral in Tehran.

Fact Check:

Social media users are claiming that Hajizadeh was killed by the IDF in Syria. One user wrote, “Update: Air chief of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) General Amir Ali Hajizadeh is killed in Damascus, Syria by an IDF strike coordinated by the CIA!”

This claim is false. No credible media outlets have reported on an IRGC general by that name being killed. A further internet search also did not yield any results for that general being killed.

BBC Verify reporter Shayan Sardarizadeh debunked the claim in a July 31 tweet.

“There’s zero evidence that Iran’s Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps aerospace force, has been assassinated in Damascus, Syria. These posts are completely false,” Sardarizadeh tweeted.

BBC Monitoring reporter Ghoncheh Habibiazad tweeted that Hajizadeh was seen at Haniyeh’s funeral. Haniyeh, a Hamas leader, was assassinated in Tehran by a smuggled explosive device, according to the New York Times. (RELATED: Was The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Struck by Houthi Rebels?)

“Here’s Amir Ali Hajizadeh today in Tehran, attending the funeral of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. Tasnim, an outlet close to the IRGC, said yesterday that false rumours of Hajizadeh’s assassination in Syria were part of ‘Zionists’ psychological operations,'” Habibizad tweeted.

A defense official told Check Your Fact that “we do not have anything for you on this” and deferred to the IDF. Check Your Fact also reached out to the IDF for comment.

Elias Atienza

Senior Reporter
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