• Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — assassinated in a U.S.-Israeli air strike on his compound in Tehran on February 28.
  • Secretary of the Supreme National Security ​Council Ali Larijani — assassinated in the Pardis area of Tehran on March ​17, along with his son and one of his deputies, Iranian media reported.
  • Ali Shamkhani — a ​close adviser to Khamenei and a key figure in Iran’s security and nuclear policymaking. He was killed in US-Israeli strikes on Tehran on February ​28.
  • Commander-in-Chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Mohammad Pakpour — killed in the February 28 strikes in Tehran, Iranian state media said.
  • Iran’s defence minister Aziz Nasirzadeh was killed in ​the same wave of strikes ⁠targeting senior leadership in Tehran on February 28, according to sources.
  • Chief of Staff of Iran’s armed forces Abdolrahim ​Mousavi was also killed in the February 28 strikes ​during what Iranian ⁠media said was a meeting of senior leadership in Tehran.
  • Commander of Iran’s Basij paramilitary force Gholamreza Soleimani was killed in US-Israeli strikes on March 17, ⁠according to ​Iranian state media.

Opinion

Editorial

A breakthrough?
07 May, 2026

A breakthrough?

The whole world would welcome an end to this pointless war.
Missed opportunity
07 May, 2026

Missed opportunity

A BIG opportunity to industrialise Pakistan has just passed us by. This has been reconfirmed by the investment...
Punishing dissent
07 May, 2026

Punishing dissent

THE Sindh government’s treatment of the Aurat March this week was a disgraceful assault on democratic rights. What...
The May war
Updated 06 May, 2026

The May war

Rationality demands that both states come to the table and discuss their grievances, and their solutions in a mature manner.
Looking inwards
06 May, 2026

Looking inwards

REGULAR appraisals by human rights groups and activists should not be treated by the authorities as attempts to ...
Feeling the heat
06 May, 2026

Feeling the heat

ANOTHER heatwave season has begun, and once again, the state is scrambling to respond to conditions it has long been...