In a mysterious turn of events, the death of two IRGC’s Aerospace Force officers was *announced in Iran on Sunday, with hardliner media calling them “martyrs.”
First came the announcement that a relatively junior officer, Ali Kamani, died in a “car accident in line of duty” in Khomein, central Iran.
From the text of the announcement, it seemed the Revolutionary Guard officer was more important than what his rank would suggest.
In expressing condolences to various military officials, the text even mentioned Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Then within hours news came that another officer of the Aerospace Force, Mohammad Abdus, had also died, in Semnan, central Iran where a space launch center is located.
Abdus was also tagged as a “martyr” although no explanation was offered by media affiliated with the IRGC about how he had died.
So far, the IRGC or their media have not offered any further details about the death of the two officers from the same force in one day, although the deaths could have occurred earlier and only announced on Sunday.
It is possible that the two officers were killed in Israeli air and missile strikes in Syria recently, but a series of other killings and deaths among IRGC ranks in Iran leads to suspicion that they might have been targets of a secret series of operations.
The IRGC aerospace force is tasked with Iran’s missile development and space program.
The country has made considerable progress in developing long-range ballistic missiles that can threaten the far fringes of the Middle East, including Israel.
Regional countries have been concerned about the potential threat from a large number of these missiles.
Considering recent killings of other Revolutionary Guard officers in Iran, some Iranians on social media drew the conclusion that the deaths most likely are part of a highly professional anti-IRGC operation carried out with precision.