On Thursday, April 2, 2026, the Iranian news agency DEFA was the first to report that General Mohammad Ali Fathalizadeh, commander of the elite Fatehin special operations unit originating from the Basij paramilitary forces, was killed in an airstrike the previous day. The information was reportedly confirmed by a DEFA war correspondent.
Photos: Internet
According to reports, the Iranian general was likely killed in an Israeli-American airstrike targeting the central headquarters of the IRGC’s Seyyed al-Shohada Regional Corps in Qaleh Hasan Khan, Tehran.
Mohammad Ali Fathalizadeh, holding the rank of Sardar, equivalent to a brigadier general, commanded the Fatehin Special Unit (Yegan-e Fatehin). It is an elite special operations unit originating from the paramilitary organization known as the Mobilization of the Oppressed, commonly referred to as the Basij, and directly subordinate to the ground forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC, Nirooye Zamini Sepah).
He was appointed to this position at the turn of March and April 2025. Previously, he also served as Deputy for Operations of the IRGC Ground Forces and as the nationwide commander of the Fatehin unit.
The Fatehin Special Unit was established in 1999 in response to unrest at the University of Tehran by Majid Fathi-Nejad. Initially, it was known as the Airborne Special Operations Unit within the Tehran Corps (Seyyed al-Shohada).
Its members undergo advanced combat training, far exceeding standard Basij training, including special operations, urban warfare, and counterinsurgency. The unit has participated in the war in Syria in support of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, as well as in suppressing protests in Iran, including during the 2022–2023 wave of demonstrations and earlier protests in 2017–2018. Currently, the unit operates both in Tehran and in the provinces, with each IRGC provincial corps maintaining its own Fatehin battalions.
Little is known about his private life. In Iranian opposition circles and exile media, he has been portrayed as one of the key commanders of repression forces—his unit having taken part in some of the harshest actions against protesters. W opozycji irańskiej i mediach emigracyjnych jest przedstawiany jako jeden z kluczowych dowódców sił represji – jego jednostka brała udział w najcięższych akcjach przeciwko demonstrantom.
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