The US and Israel have struck Iran : Who has been killed ? - 01 - Mar - 2026

home.nzcity.co.nz · Mar 1, 2026 · Collected from GDELT

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The United States and Israel have killed Iran's leader in an air strike, as the two countries push for regime change.US President Donald Trump and Iranian state TV are reporting Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has been killed.Israel says a number of senior Iranian leaders have died in the extensive strikes on a wide range of targets.The strikes have been dubbed Operation Epic Fury by the United States and Operation Roaring Lion by Israel. "This is the single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their Country," the US president said in a post on Truth Social. The following military, intelligence and security leaders have been killed, the IDF (Israel Defence Forces) says. Iran has confirmed the deaths of Ali Khameni, Ali Shamkani and Mohammad Pakpour.They are:Killed: Supreme Leader Ali KhameneiIranian State TV has said that Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in the strikes. Khamenei was a stalwart of the regime, described by the US president as "one of the most evil people in history".Born in the city of Mashhad in 1939, and the son of a religious scholar, Khamenei joined the religious opposition movement of Ayatollah Khomeini against Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in 1962. After the Islamic Revolution of 1979, Khamenei became deputy defence minister, and helped organise the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC).After the death of Khomeini in June 1989, the nation's council of clerics chose Ali Khamenei to be the new supreme leader, even though he had not achieved the required rank among Shia clerics that the constitution required.The constitution was amended to say the supreme leader had to show Islamic scholarship, allowing Khamenei to be selected.After coming to power, Khamenei maintained an iron grip on Iran's politics and its armed forces. Khamenei has consistently taken hard-line stances on the country's foreign affairs, including Iran's long-standing confrontation with the US.Killed: Ali ShamkhaniAli Shamkhani, 70, was the secretary of the Iranian Security Council Forces. Shamkhani, who helped restore ties with Saudi Arabia in 2023, had held defence and security posts since the 1979 Islamic revolution that toppled Iran's US-backed monarch, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. Shamkhani was a former IRGC Navy chief and army chief. A top adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Israel targeted him in last June's war, and initially believed it had killed him.The secretary of the Supreme National Security Council for the past 10 years, Shamkhani was appointed head of Iran's Defence Council after the June 2025 12-day war with Israel.Killed: Mohammad ShiraziMohammad Shirazi was the head of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's military bureau.Shirazi headed the military office of Khamenei's since 1989.He was said to have been responsible for coordination between the regime's senior armed forces commanders and the supreme leader, serving as a key figure at the top of Iran's power structure.Killed: Mohammad PakpourMohammad Pakpour was the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.Pakpour was identified as one of the key thinkers behind what Israel described as Iran's "plan to destroy Israel".According to the spokesman, he commanded Iran's central military force and oversaw the deployment of strategic fire systems against the State of Israel.Pakpour also directed and supported Iranian-backed militant organisations overseas. He was also said to have played a leading role in the violent suppression of Iranian protesters during last month's protests.Killed: Aziz NasirzadehIran's Defence Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh was a former air force commander.A former deputy chief of staff of the armed forces, Nasirzadeh was believed to be responsible for long-range missile production facilities and weapons systems transferred to Iran's proxy forces. He is believed to have overseen the SPND organisation, which advances projects in the fields of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons.Killed: Hossein Jabal AmelianHossein Jabal Amelian was head of the Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research, known by its Persian acronym SPND.Amelian was described as responsible for developing advanced technologies and weapons for the Iranian regime.It is believed those included projects related to nuclear, biological and chemical weapons.Killed: Reza Mozaffari-NiaReza Mozaffari-Nia was the former head of SPND.Mozaffari-Nia was believed to have played a role in advancing efforts to develop nuclear weapons.Killed: Saleh AsadiSaleh Asadi was a senior regime intelligence officer.Abadi, head of intelligence for Iran's emergency command, was a senior intelligence officer within the general staff.Asadi was believed to be involved in helping influence Iran's foreign affairs strategy towards Israel and the United States.Last year's 12-day war saw extensive parts of the regime killed, targeting the country's nuclear program.Iran's Red Crescent says the Israeli-US strikes across the country have killed 201 people and injured 747, according to comments on Iranian state TV.Who could succeed?Iran's elite has formed an interim council to govern the country and to avoid a power vacuum. The council is made up of Iran’s sitting president, Masoud Pezeshkian, the head of the country’s judiciary, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i, and a member of the Guardian Council. But one of the key contenders to be a figure in any future government is the influential Ali Larijani.He is an Iraqi-born Iranian politician and former military officer in the IRGC, who has served as secretary of the Supreme National Security Council since 2025. He served as the speaker of the parliament of Iran from 2008 to 2020.During Iran's 12-day war with Israel last year, Ayatollah Khamenei also named three candidates who could be appointed to succeed him.The supreme leader is at the heart of Iran’s complex power-sharing Shiite theocracy and has final say over all matters of state.He also serves as the commander-in-chief of the country's military and the powerful Revolutionary GuardIn Iran, the supreme leader must be a Shia cleric appointed by a committee known as the Assembly of Experts.Those three, according to reports, are the head of the judiciary, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i; Ayatollah Khamenei’s deputy chief of staff, Ali Asghar Hejazi; and Hassan Khomeini, a grandson of Ayatollah Khomeini.Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’iGholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i is Iran's chief justice. He is one of three figures currently standing in as the country's interim governing council. He was the Iranian minister of intelligence from 2005 to July 2009Ali Asghar HejaziAli Asghar Hijazi is an Iranian cleric who has served as the deputy chief of staff to Ali Khamenei. Hassan KhomeiniHassan Khomeini is one of the most prominent grandchildren of the regime's founder, supreme leader Ruhollah Khomeini.In 2015, Hassan Khomeini announced that he would enter politics and run for the Assembly of Experts in the 2016 election.His nomination was rejected by the Guardian Council.