New Delhi: The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) confirmed the killing of seven senior defence officials of Iran, including the defence minister and the chief of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), on Sunday.
In a post on X, the IDF said that Israeli Air Force fighters struck military targets across Iran, eliminating the seven senior Iranian officials.Defence minister Aziz Nasirzadeh and IRGC chief Mohammad Pakpour were among those shown slain in the IDF post.
“Ali Shamkhani, Mohammad Pakpour, Saleh Asadi, Mohammad Shirazi, Aziz Nasirzadeh, Hossein Jabal Amelian, Reza Mozaffari-Nia. The world is a better place without them,” the IDF said.
🔴ELIMINATED:
IAF fighter jets precisely struck military targets across Iran, eliminating 7 senior officials of the Iranian Defense Leadership:
Ali Shamkhani, Mohammad Pakpour, Saleh Asadi, Mohammad Shirazi, Aziz Nasirzadeh, Hossein Jabal Amelian, Reza Mozaffari-Nia.
The world… pic.twitter.com/4oOj2Y7DMt
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) February 28, 2026
The IDF then delivered another massive blow to the Iranian security apparatus by taking out Abdolrahim Mousavi, the Iranian Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces. Forty senior commanders, it added, were eliminated as well.
Earlier, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a United States and Israel-led joint military operation. The Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), Iran’s state media, confirmed the 86-year-old’s “martyrdom”.
According to IRIB, Khamenei’s daughter, grandchild, son-in-law, and daughter-in-law were also killed in the strike.
The slain bigwigs
Aziz Nasirzadeh was appointed as the defence minister and the Armed Forces Logistics in 2024 under President Masoud Pezeshkian. A former F-14 Tomcat pilot, he also served as a commander of the Iranian Air Force from 2018 to 2021.
A former IRGC Navy chief, Ali Shamkhani served from 2013 onwards as secretary of the Supreme National Security Council. He was a close aide and advisor to Khamenei on security and directed the Centre for Strategic Studies, a key strategist bridging military and policy factions.
Hossein Jabal Amelian was the chairperson of the Organisation of Defensive Innovation and Research (SPND), which oversees Tehran’s advanced weapon development, including nuclear, biological, and chemical weapon projects.
IRGC commander-in-chief Mohammad Pakpour was instrumental in Tehran’s missile and drone strikes on Israel, while simultaneously supporting proxies and modernising the IRGC via an asymmetric warfare doctrine.
Reza Mozaffari-Nia, the chairperson of SPND, was also the dean of Malek Ashtar University and deputy defence minister. He was sanctioned by America in 2013 for his involvement in advancing Iran’s nuclear mission.
Saleh Asadi was the head of the Intelligence Directorate for Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, IRGC’s emergency command. Asadi was the key person in plotting anti-US & Israel strategies, which contributed to Tehran’s plan against Tel Aviv.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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