The list of Iranian leaders eliminated by U.S. and Israeli strikes in Operation Epic Fury is growing, and includes much of the top command structure of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the designated foreign terrorist organization that handles both overseas terrorism and internal repression for the Islamist regime.
The list of high-level casualties begins with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, whose death was announced by President Trump on Saturday and confirmed by Iranian state media on Sunday.
Khamenei was reportedly killed while meeting with a large assembly of top defense officials, who died alongside him. Topping that list was Ali Shamkhani, secretary of the Defense Council and a top adviser to the supreme leader, who presided over the last rounds of nuclear negotiations with the United States. Shamkhani was previously injured by an Israeli strike during the 12-Day War last summer.
The chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces, Abdolrahim Mousavi, was also reportedly eliminated. Mousavi was an important leader in Iran’s ballistic missile and drone programs, and faced human rights complaints for his actions in violently suppressing 2019 protests against rising gas prices.
Also killed were Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh and IRGC commander-in-chief Mohammad Pakpour. Pakpour was a longtime veteran of the IRGC who previously served as their armored and ground forces commander, experience that will not easily be replaced.
Nasirzadeh oversaw the Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research, known by its Persian acronym SPND — Iran’s heavily-sanctioned research program for weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons. He reportedly died alongside SPND chairman Hossein Jabal Amelian and former chairman Reza Motaferri-Nia.
Another longtime veteran officer killed was Mohammad Shirazi, the chief of the Supreme Leader’s military bureau, and Khamanei’s top liaison with the armed forces. Shirazi had been head of the military bureau since 1989.
Salah Asadi was the senior intelligence officer for the general staff of the Iranian armed forces. According to Israeli officials, Asadi was a key figure in Iran’s “plan to destroy Israel,” and helped to devise Iran’s defense strategy against the United States.
Another familiar name on the list was former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whose death was reported by Israeli and international media on Sunday, but has not yet been confirmed. Some Iranian state media sources reported his death, while others claimed he was alive, and published a statement he purportedly issued after multiple strikes hit the city of Narmak in eastern Tehran where he resided.
Ahmadinejad was Iran’s president between 2005 and 2013, and later became an outspoken hardline critic of succeeding administrations. He was noted for presiding over the slaughter of protesters during the “Green Movement” uprising of 2009. He held a seat on the Expedient Discernment Council, which advised the Supreme Leader.
At least three IRGC officers assigned to Ahmadinejad’s security detail reportedly died in the attack on his residence.
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