Iran's Leadership Decimated in War: Key Figures Killed in US-Israeli Strikes
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared on Thursday that Iran is "being decimated" while the Israeli army described the Iranian leadership on its Persian-language X account as a "house of cards that is collapsing." This comes after nearly three weeks of intense conflict that has seen devastating losses for the Islamic republic's political and military elite.
Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei Among the Fallen
US-Israeli airstrikes have resulted in the death of Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who had been the nation's number one figure since 1989. Khamenei was killed in the first hour of the war on February 28 during a strike on a meeting of senior officials in Tehran. The attack also claimed the lives of his daughter-in-law, daughter, and at least one grandchild, according to reports. His low-profile son, Mojtaba, survived with injuries and has taken over as supreme leader, though he has yet to make a public appearance. Ali Khamenei remains unburied, with Mojtaba stating in a written message that he saw the body.
Other Key Iranian Leaders Killed
The war has decimated Iran's leadership ranks, with several pivotal figures eliminated:
- Ali Larijani, the national security council chief and a non-cleric pillar of the system for decades, was likely the biggest loss after Khamenei. He was killed on March 17 in an Israeli strike in the Tehran region, which also killed family members. Just a week earlier, he had defiantly walked in public at a pro-government rally in Tehran.
- Mohammad Pakpour, the commander-in-chief of the Revolutionary Guards, was killed on the first day of the war. He had only headed the force since June 2025, following the death of previous commander Hossein Salami in Israel's earlier conflict with Iran. He has been replaced by former interior and defence minister Ahmad Vahidi.
- Ali Shamkhani, an advisor to the supreme leader and a mainstay of Iran's armed forces since the 1980s, was killed in an airstrike on the first day of the war. He had been severely wounded in a strike during Israel's June war against Iran but later re-emerged. He was given a public funeral in Tehran's Tajrish Square and was reportedly buried without a head.
- Esmael Khatib, the intelligence minister since 2021 and a cleric, was killed by an Israeli strike in Tehran early on March 18. He was accused by rights groups of playing a key role in suppressing protests.
Iran's Resilience and Recent Attacks
Despite these heavy losses, the Islamic republic has demonstrated resilience by rapidly replacing killed leaders and maintaining its war efforts against the US and Israel. In the latest attack, the spokesman of the Revolutionary Guards, Ali Mohammad Naini, was killed in a US-Israel strike at dawn on Friday, according to the force. This ongoing conflict highlights the intense pressure on Iran's leadership structure, with Netanyahu's "decimated" remark underscoring the significant impact of the airstrikes. However, the ability to swiftly appoint successors suggests that the system, while battered, is not entirely collapsing as described by Israeli military accounts.
