On the 28th (local time), Reuters reported that Iran's Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander in chief Mohammad Pakpour appeared to have been killed in U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran. However, Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Khamenei, was said to have survived.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in an interview with NBC on the same day, "As far as I know, the supreme leader is still alive." Iran also said that President Masoud Pezeshkian survived. However, there has been no official announcement yet regarding Khamenei's condition.
Meanwhile, Reuters reported that Iran's Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander in chief Mohammad Pakpour appeared to have been killed in the strikes. Reuters cited two Israeli military sources and one regional source.
CNN, citing Israeli sources, also reported that the United States and Israel targeted, in addition to Supreme Leader Khamenei and President Pezeshkian, Armed Forces Chief of Staff Abdolrahim Mousavi, Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Secretary General Ali Larijani, and National Defense Committee Secretary General Ali Shamkhani. However, it was not confirmed whether they were actually struck.
Israeli outlet Ynet, citing Israeli officials, reported that Commander in Chief Pakpour was killed in the strikes. Commander in Chief Pakpour took office last June, succeeding Commander in Chief Hossein Salami, who was killed by an explosion in the "12-day war" between Israel and Iran.
Earlier, Reuters, citing a source close to the Iranian regime, reported that several senior IRGC commanders had been killed. Minister Araghchi said, "Iran may have lost several commanders, but that is not such a big problem."