Which key Iranian figures have been killed in US-Israeli strikes?

Published March 18, 2026 Updated March 18, 2026 06:04pm
  • 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.

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