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Iran’s armed forces chief of staff, Abdolrahim Mousavi, was killed along with several other senior military officials in U.S. and Israeli strikes on the country, Iranian state television reported Sunday.
State TV said Mousavi was killed alongside Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh, Revolutionary Guards chief Mohammad Pakpour and Ali Shamkhani, head of Iran’s Defense Council, during the attacks late Saturday.
The broadcaster said the officials were killed “during a Defense Council meeting,” adding that additional names would be announced later.
Media linked to the Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) also reported the deaths of Abdolrahim Mousavi, chief of the General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces; Mohammad Pakpour, commander in chief of the IRGC; Ali Shamkhani, adviser to the supreme commander and secretary of the Defense Council; and Aziz Nasirzadeh, minister of defense and armed forces logistics.
Meanwhile, Iranian state television announced Sunday that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed in U.S.-Israeli attacks targeting Iran on Saturday.
Iranian television said that “the Leader of the Revolution and the Islamic Republic of Iran, Sayyed Ali Khamenei, was martyred” in the U.S.-Israeli aggression that began early Saturday.
Fars News Agency reported that Khamenei “was martyred in his office while carrying out his duties during the early hours of Saturday,” adding that his daughter, son-in-law, and grandson were also killed in the attacks.
The Iranian government declared 40 days of national mourning and ordered the suspension of official institutions for seven days.
“This great crime will not pass without response, and a new chapter will be written in the history of the Islamic world,” the statement said.
The Supreme National Security Council said Khamenei’s death would mark the beginning of a “great uprising against the tyrants of the world.”
The IRGC vowed an “overwhelming and decisive revenge” against those responsible for Khamenei’s killing and announced it would launch retaliatory attacks against Israel and U.S. bases in the region “in the near future,” according to IRNA.
The statement described the attacks as a “criminal and terrorist act” and said the “hand of revenge of the Iranian people to punish the killers with severe, decisive, and regret-inducing punishment will not leave them.”
The IRGC urged all segments of society to participate in national defense gatherings to demonstrate unity, saying Khamenei’s path “will not stop after his martyrdom but will continue with strength and grandeur.”
U.S. President Donald Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that “Khamenei, one of the most evil figures in history, is dead.”
Trump added that “heavy and pinpoint bombing, however, will continue, uninterrupted throughout the week or as long as necessary to achieve our objective of PEACE THROUGHOUT THE MIDDLE EAST AND, INDEED, THE WORLD!”
The Iranian government said Khamenei’s killing “will not go unpunished,” emphasizing that the perpetrators and those who ordered the attack “will be made to regret it.”
The crisis began early Saturday when Israel and the United States carried out strikes on multiple Iranian cities, including Tehran, Isfahan, Karaj, Qom, Tabriz, Bushehr, Kermanshah and Ilam.
Israel described the operation as a “preemptive attack,” while Trump announced “major combat operations” targeting Iran.
Israel and Iran closed their airspace. Israel declared a state of emergency, and civilians were urged to seek shelter in anticipation of Iranian counterattacks.
Iran reported firing dozens of ballistic missiles at Israel and launching strikes on U.S. targets in Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, and Jordan using missiles and kamikaze drones. The Iranian Red Crescent said the attacks killed 201 people and wounded 747 others.
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