Some of Iran’s most senior regime leaders have been killed by the US and Israel.image: watson
The USA and Israel have been attacking Iran militarily since February 28, 2026. Several high-ranking representatives of the Iranian regime have already been killed. We have compiled the most important names, their functions and what is known so far about the circumstances of their deaths.
March 1, 2026, 9:24 p.mMarch 1, 2026, 9:24 p.m
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
Image: EPA IRANIAN LEADER’S OFFICE
Function: Supreme Leader of Iran.
Iranian state television reports that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in the latest attacks. Khamenei was considered the central figure of the regime and shaped the country’s politics for decades. The US President had repeatedly criticized him sharply and described him as “one of the most evil people in history”.
Khamenei was born in Mashhad in 1939, the son of a cleric, and joined Ayatollah Khomeini’s religious opposition movement against Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in 1962. After the Islamic Revolution of 1979, he took over as Deputy Minister of Defense and was involved in setting up the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
After Khomeini’s death in June 1989, the Expert Council of Clergy elected him as the new Supreme Leader, even though he did not initially hold the religious rank provided for by the constitution. The constitution was adapted accordingly. In the decades that followed, Khamenei kept politics and the armed forces under tight control and took an uncompromising line in foreign policy, especially towards the USA.
Ali Shamkhani
Image: keystone
Function: Secretary of the Iranian Security Council.
Ali Shamkhani, 70, was secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council. He has been one of the defining figures in the country’s defense and security apparatus since the Islamic Revolution of 1979, which overthrew the Western-backed Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.
Shamkhani was formerly commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ naval units and head of the regular army. In 2023, he played an important role in the rapprochement between Iran and Saudi Arabia.
As a close advisor to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, he was one of the country’s most influential security politicians. He was already the target of an attack during the war with Israel in June last year; At that time, Israel initially assumed that he had been killed. After the twelve-day war in June 2025, Shamkhani was appointed head of Iran’s Defense Council.
Mohammad Pakpour
Image: NurPhoto
Function: Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Mohammad Pakpour was the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), making him one of Iran’s highest-ranking military officials. He was considered one of the central strategic figures within the power apparatus.
According to Israeli sources, Pakpour was one of the key architects of what Israel described as Iran’s “plan to destroy Israel.” As commander of central armed forces, he is said to have been responsible for the use of strategic weapons systems against Israel.
He also coordinated and supported Iranian-sponsored militant groups abroad. He also reportedly played a leading role in the violent crackdown on nationwide protests last month.
Aziz Nasirzadeh
Image: keystone
Function: Minister of Defense of Iran.
Aziz Nasirzadeh was Iran’s defense minister and previously commander of the air force. He also served as deputy chief of general staff of the armed forces and was therefore part of the country’s highest military leadership.
Nasirzadeh was considered responsible for facilities for the production of long-range missiles as well as weapons systems that were supplied to militias allied with Iran abroad.
He is also credited with overseeing the SPND organization, which advances research and development projects in the areas of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons.
Mohammad Shirazi
Image: www.imago-images.de
Function: Head of the Supreme Leader’s Military Office.
Mohammad Shirazi was the head of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s military office for a long time and was therefore one of the central figures in the Islamic Republic’s power apparatus.
Shirazi served in this role shortly after Khamenei was appointed Supreme Leader in 1989 and remained in this key position for decades. In this role, he was responsible for coordination between the regime’s top military commanders and the Supreme Leader.
Shirazi was one of the most important mediators between politics and the armed forces in the Iranian power structure and played an important role at the top of the Iranian security architecture.
Hossein Jabal Amelian
Function: Head of the Defense Innovation and Research Organization (SPND).
Hossein Jabal Amelian was head of the Defense Innovation and Research Organization, known by its Persian acronym SPND. The facility is considered the central research center of the Iranian defense apparatus.
Amelian was described as responsible for developing advanced technologies and weapons systems for the regime. According to security circles, these projects also included programs in the areas of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons.
Reza Mozaffari-Nia
Function: Former head of the Defense Innovation and Research Organization (SPND).
Reza Mozaffari-Nia was the former head of the Defense Innovation and Research Organization (SPND). The authority is considered the central point for military research projects in Iran.
Mozaffari-Nia is said to have played a role in advancing programs linked to the possible development of nuclear weapons.
Saleh Asadi
Function: High-ranking intelligence officer.
Saleh Asadi was a senior intelligence officer in the Iranian regime and head of intelligence within the General Staff – one of the most prominent figures in the field of strategic intelligence gathering and analysis.
In this role, according to available reports, Asadi was instrumental in coordinating and increasing the influence of Iran’s intelligence services on foreign policy, particularly with regard to relations and confrontation with Israel and the United States. His role went beyond pure intelligence work and included strategic contributions to the direction of Iran’s security and foreign policy towards these states.
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